Golf News October/November 2016

ISSUE 259 | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 TWITTER @GOLFNEWSMAG • WEB GOLFNEWS.CO.UK COMPLIMENTARY COPY

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BY

NICK BAYLY

THERE’S NO ‘I’ IN MY TEAM

O

ccasionally, during the course of what my mother-in-law often refers to as ‘not a real job’, I have to play golf courses on my own. I know, it’s a dreadful hardship, but them’s the breaks.

Thankfully, I’m often able to drag out the head pro, or at very least, his or her third assistant, when I’m called on to review a course, while sometimes a club member is excused from his regular Tuesday roll up to guide me around an unfamiliar layout. It’s the golfing equivalent of a blind date, but I can count the number of awkward encounters I’ve had on a hand that has only one finger, so I have been pretty lucky in my 20-odd years in the game – although I can’t vouch for what my partners made of me.

As a youngster, I never liked doing anything much on my own, and would always seek out the company of others, if only to go and throw stones in the river or set fire to AirFix models in the woods. And so it is with golf.

As much as I love the pure joy to be had from hitting a crisp 9-iron stone dead on a par three, or curling in a 30-foot double breaking putt for an unlikely par, unless someone else is there to witness it, it might as well never have happened.

Golf, for me, is a shared experience, and is all the better when played in the company of friends, occasionally family – father versus son encounters are still quite feisty – or, as is often the case in my line of work, complete strangers. Regardless of whom you’re playing with, golf, in my book, is generally richer, fuller, and more enjoyable when it is a social, as well as a sporting, occasion.

The human predisposition for camaraderie goes a long way to explaining the success of the Ryder Cup, the most recent edition of which was a classic example of the highs and lows of team golf played against a backdrop of mutual respect and simmering resentment.

Professional golf is a lonely sport at the best of times, with 102 out of every 104 weeks played in the solitary pursuit of money. It’s dog eat dog in comfortable knitwear. However, for three days every other year, two sets of players come together for a common purpose, when the rush for dollars and euros are put aside for one moment, and where you’re likely to find more grown men hugging and crying than you would during judge’s houses on The X Factor.

Many of the rookies looked stunned that a fellow golfer should want to slap them on the back, fist bump, or low five whenever they holed a putt; while a gentle arm around the shoulder or a consoling nod is also rare gesture during the heat of regular tournament golf.

And such is the strength of the team dynamic that some of the players appeared genuinely bereft during the singles matches, when there was no-one but their caddie to share their joy. There are few sadder sights in the world than an unrequited high-five left hanging in the air.

If only golf’s governing bodies could bottle up just an ounce of what the Ryder Cup habitually delivers, then our sport would be in safe hands.

As it is, these moments have to be cherished and clung onto, as, like all good things, they don’t come around very often.

Maple House, The Spinney, Hove, BN3 6QT TEL: 01273 381794 EMAIL: info@golfnews.co.uk WEBSITE: golfnews.co.uk FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @golfnewsmag MANAGING DIRECTOR Matt Nicholson matt@golfnews.co.uk EDITOR Nick Bayly editor@golfnews.co.uk ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Richard Maunder richard@golfnews.co.uk ART DIRECTOR Darren Kirk darren-kirk@btconnect.com PRODUCTION Kath Perry ads@golfnews.co.uk

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PHOTOGRAPHY Getty Images, James Cheadle, Howard Boylan PUBLISHED BY BlueGreen Media REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Jeremy Ellwood, Sarah Stirk, Paul Mahoney, Clive Agran, Ross McGowan, Alistair Tait © Copyright 2016. No part of this publication may be copied, photocopied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in anyway or means, either by recording or otherwise, without permission of the publishers in writing.

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

■ ANDREW JOHNSTON WILL BE PLAYING A SPLIT SCHEDULE NEXT SEASON

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iddlesex tour pro Andrew Johnston has earned his card for next season’s PGA Tour after finishing fourth at the Web.com Tour’s Albertsons Boise Open in Idaho.

The 27 year old from North Middlesex Golf Club clinched his card with a final round three-under-par 68 at Hillcrest Country Club, where he finished four shots behind winner Michael Thompson.

The top 25 on the Web.com Tour Finals money list earn PGA Tour cards, and by earning $54,910 through his first two events (sixth on the list), Johnston has already earned enough to play on the PGA Tour full time. If he had been eligible to play on this season’s PGA Tour, his earnings would have seen him finish well inside the top 200 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Johnston, who won his first European Tour event at the Spanish

Open in April, is currently 74th in the world rankings, having started the season 244th. Earlier this month he finished third at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland, and was eighth in the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.

Having already secured his European Tour card for next year, Johnson plans to play both tours next season, but said that it was too early to say how his schedule would be split.

“I’m really happy to have gone over there and achieved what I was trying to do,” said Johnston. “It’s a big result for me and it's going to make for a great year next year. I'm not going to give up playing in Europe, but I just need to sit down and come up with a schedule that will work for me. I’m really excited about the opportunity, and the chance to improve my game on both tours.”

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CHART HILLS SOLD TO OLD THORNS OWNER

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hart Hills Golf Club in Kent has been sold to Hampshire-based businessman and hotelier Martin Shaw, owner of Old Thorns Golf & Country Estate.

The Biddenden-based club, which features an 18-hole course designed by Nick Faldo, was put on the market by the Leaderboard Group in the summer for a guide price of £2.75 million.

The terms of the sale have not been disclosed.

Ian Simpson, director of leisure and

trading at Savills, commented: “Having launched the sale of Chart Hills in June this year, the speed at which we have successfully completed the transaction reflects the prime quality and location of the golf course, and the opportunity for future development.”

Chart Hills has hosted the European Tour 's Qualifying School and also hosted the Ladies European Tour' Ladies English Open Championship. In May 2017, the course is scheduled to host the prestigious Brabazon Trophy.

ertfordshire tour pro Callum Shinkwin went to bed on the night before the British Masters got under way at The Grove feeling slightly disappointed that he had missed out on playing in what was essentially a home match for the Bushey-based player.

As first reserve for the showpiece European Tour event he was relying on one more player to drop out in order for him to make the starting line up, and with no word from the tournament’s organisers on the eve of the event, he turned out the lights believing a rare chance to play in front of a home crowd has passed.

But any plans he had for October 13 were rapidly ripped up when, still lying in bed, he picked up his phone and noticed not one, but three missed calls from the European Tour.

The late withdrawal of Thomas Bjorn had opened the door, and by 8.28am Shinkwin was at The Grove and 12 minutes later he was teeing off alongside Bradley Dredge and Marc Warren on the 10th hole.

Perhaps not surprisingly in the circumstances, the former English Amateur champion got off to a nervy start, and was three over par after three holes, and in danger of wasting his golden opportunity.

But a run of three birdies in five holes from the 16th saw him eventually finish on even par for the first round.

“I got off to a really bad start in the first six holes, but I managed to grind it out,” said Shinkwin, who called on his cousin, light-heavyweight boxer Miles Shinkwin, to carry his bag. “The wind was in a different direction to what it was like when I’ve previously played the course, so it made a few holes play a lot shorter. I made a mistake in picking up the wrong yardage book – I got one in metres instead of yards – so the start was a bit weird, leaving a few shots short, but I got used to it.”

Such was the speed of first morning events, Shinkwin called on his cousin – the light-heavyweight boxer Miles Shinkwin – to carry his bag and he joked: “Part-time caddie. He’ll be sacked at the end of the week.”

After having a night to sleep on his good fortune, the Moor Park player regained his composure and shot another level par 71 in the second round, which included a birdie at the par-5 18th to see him sneak into the weekend by a single stroke.

He then shot rounds of 69 and 72 to finish 58th, and pick up a handy €9,500 towards his Race to Dubai ranking, which stood at 74th in the week before the tournament, following a 38th place at the previous weeks’ Dunhill Links Championship.

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OCT/NOV 2016 | NEWS

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KENT RETAIN TELEGRAPH SALVER Kent defeated BB&O in a tense final at the Army Golf Club in Aldershot to retain the Daily Telegraph Salver. The morning foursomes were level at 2-2, with Liam Burns and Freddie Price winning the top match, while Josh Bristow and Marcus Sewell won in impressive fashion, 4&2.

Captain Danny Curtis stuck to his tactics of loading his team at the top. They responded in typical fashion. Price halved his match, while Burns and Mark Collins both won. Sewell and Bristow could not repeat their morning heroics, however, however the experienced lefthander Michael Bush had a 3&2 victory. Dan Brown lost by one hole, but Danny Jones managed to secure the winning point with an excellent comeback, having been one down with three to play.

EASTHAMPSTEAD WINS DUNCAN TROPHY Easthampstead Ladies captured Berkshire’s Duncan Trophy after beating Donnington Valley 3-2 in a closely fought final held at Mill Ride. The team, which has its home at the Downshire Golf Complex, beat three other teams en route to the final of the single match play tournament, which it last won in 1989.

LUMSDEN WINS FIRST US COLLEGE TITLE Surrey’s Ryan Lumsden won his first major US college title at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate at Milwaukee Country Club in Wisconsin. The Royal Wimbledon player, who is studying at Northwestern University in Chicago, shot three consecutive rounds of 69 to finish on three under par. His score helped Northwestern win the team title.

■ THE AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK ON A GREEN AT ROCHFORD HUNDRED

VANDALS RUIN ROCHFORD GREENS R ochford Hundred Golf Club in Essex has suffered its second incident of vandalism in the last six months, after two greens of the 18-hole course were dug up with a shovel.

The Southend-based venue was targeted in February this year, when a green was badly damaged with a rake, but this latest incident, which took place on September 18, was far more serious, with vandals digging up almost the entire fifth and 16th greens.

Groundsmen arrived at the club on the morning of the 19th to find both putting surfaces almost completely destroyed. The club is due to host a men’s competition this weekend, and club officials are determined that it will go ahead despite the damage.

Roger Fearn, director of golf operations, said the club is speaking to insurers about the vandalism, which could cost hundreds of pounds to put right.

He said: “It isn’t the first time we

have had vandalism, but nothing as extreme as this. David Rand, the head groundsman, is devastated, as is his staff. They work exceptionally hard, and it’s a difficult time at the moment because of the lack of water. Thankfully, we have had tremendous support from other clubs, so it certainly brings the golfing community together when something goes wrong like this.”

Long-time member Ivor Finer believes that it those responsible must hold a grudge against the club. He said: “We could weep, it’s horrific. They have gone there with a shovel and a wheelbarrow, so it’s targeted, it isn’t just pure vandalism. This has been done for a reason. It’s heartbreaking. The greenkeeper was close to tears. It’s a great disappointment to every single member. One person on Facebook has already offered a £1,000 reward to find whoever did it.”

Local residents are reported to be concerned about the recent increase in anti-social behaviour in the Rochford area. One, Karen Amber, 50, said: “Rochford is a lovely place to live. I know people who have been born here and lived here all their lives and they say they have never known the level of wanton acts of vandalism that we have been experiencing since last summer.”

WOBURN WIN HILLMAN TROPHY

W

oburn captured the BB&O’s Hillman Trophy after beating The Lambourne 4.5-2.5 in the final held at Studley Wood in Oxfordshire. Honours were even after the first three matches, but then Woburn edged ahead in three of the next four matches to take the trophy for the first time since 2003. Woburn's seven-man team comprised Alan Featherstone, Mo Dewji, Mark Randall, Dave Fensome, Justin Pardy, Kevin Byram and David Allison.

REAY OUTGUNS JAMEGA RIVALS AT THE SHIRE

H

ampshire professional Haydn Reay survived a final hole scare at The Shire London to win the final event of the 2016 Jamega Tour season.

The Army Golf Club man fired rounds of 66 and 68 to take the season-ending tournament by two shots from Essex's Dale Whitnell, but was grateful for a fourshot final-hole cushion, after he double bogeyed the notoriously difficult 18th at the Seve Ballesteros-designed course near Potters Bar. Reay led the 36-hole tournament from pillar to post, although he did have Whitnell for company after the first round, when both players were six under par on low-scoring day at the windless venue.

Both players matched each other shot for shot over the final round, until bogeys at 16 and 17 by Whitnell and a birdie by Reay saw a gap open up at the top of the leaderboard.

A lapse of concentration probably led to the unfortunate double bogey by Reay at the last – but with playing partner Whitnell only able to muster a par, there was no danger of him being caught.

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[9]

GOODWOOD GOLFERS GET IN THE REVIVAL SPIRIT

M

ore than 70 members at Goodwood turned back the clock almost 100 years to compete in the annual Revival Golf Challenge last month.

Held to coincide with Goodwood’s Revival motorsport

event, which attracted over 70,000 people over the weekend of September 10-11, golfers dressed in period costume and battled it out over the Downs Course armed only with traditional pencil-thin carry bags filled with mashies, jiggers,

HAYLING CHARITY DAY RAISES £7.5K FOR MACMILLIAN ■ REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: GOODWOOD MEMBERS TURNED OUT IN FORCE

brassies, spoons and niblicks with whippy hickory shafts, all of which proved far less forgiving than their modern day counterparts.

Among the players teeing off at the shotgun start was 2015 World Hickory Champion Andrew Marshall, although the winners on the day were father-and-son combination Terry and Chris Kerr, who combined to score 41 points.

Following the triumph, Terry said; “I was playing with my son today and we were celebrating his birthday, so to win was pretty special. The Downs course is tough at the best of times, so getting round with

a set of hickory clubs is a serious challenge – but also a heck of a lot of fun!”

Goodwood general manager Stuart Gillett was delighted with the turnout, at what was the ninth renewal of the event. He said: “We had 72 players out on the course, and to see the enjoyment everyone had playing hickory golf was fantastic. A number of people commented on it being the best golf event they’ve ever done. With fly-pasts from Spitfires, and the roar of engines coming from the motor circuit, it’s easy to understand why players enjoy this event so much.”

WALLIS TOPPLES TUDOR PARK WITH SWEET 60

K

ent’s Richard Wallis ((pictured right) shot a stunning 10-underpar 60 at the Marriott Tudor Park Pro-Am for a four-shot win.

The Canterbury professional’s nearest rivals, Richard Neil-Jones, Adam Clough and Scott Stevens, could only look on in awe, as their 64s were only good enough to secure runners’ up position.

With a format that encouraged the players to go for everything, it was Wallis whose golf was the hottest by several degrees. He commented: “I don’t know if it’s because I’m more focussed

on teaching business instead of pushing myself on the golf course, but nowadays I’m much more relaxed and having a lot more fun!

I am swinging well and my second shots were bang on target today.

The format’s all about going for it at every opportunity, and that’s exactly what I did.”

The Pro-Am saw 17 teams of sponsor S&G Air’s top clients and a number of teams from the Maidstone venue gather together for a day of golf and fun and an evening of entertainment and networking.

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A field of 64 players took part in a Macmillan Cancer Support charity day at Hayling Golf Club in Hampshire last month to raise funds for the Chichester branch of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Despite strong winds and showers, the winning team in the Texas Scramble, Southdown Office Supplies, managed a creditable net score of 57.5, after going round the Hampshire course in seven under par. The day raised a total of £7,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The club is planning to host another tournament to support the charity again next year, with the date set for August 30. For details contact timdavidson@ metronet.co.uk.

DARTFORD RETAINS 4SOMES LEAGUE TITLE Dartford Golf Club successfully defended Kent’s Srixon Junior 4Somes League after beating Sundridge Park in the final held at Littlestone, which required a threehole play off to decide the winner. The Plate competition was won by Chelsfield Lakes following a 2-1 win against Sittingbourne.

FARLEIGH & FOXHILLS UNVEIL NEW BUGGY FLEET Golfers booking a game at Foxhills or Farleigh golf clubs can look forward to riding around the two Surrey venues in absolute comfort, following the arrival of a new fleet of buggies. The new E-Z-GO RXV golf cars – 30 of which are at Foxhills and 20 at Farleigh – feature handstitched seats, wider bag storage, and built-in GPS systems. As well providing an interactive course guide and scoring options, the GPS unit allows direct communication with the clubhouse for food and beverage orders.

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[10] OCT/NOV 2016 | NEWS

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HATTON DELIVERS DUNHILL KNOCKOUT SURREY WINS U18S' LEAGUE Surrey won the EGU’s U18s South East League after beating BB&O and Norfolk at the final held at Essendon Country Club in Hertfordshire on September 25.

Surrey reached the final after winning its mini regional league against Sussex, Kent and Hampshire. The final was an eighta-side triangular match played in singles only. With both Surrey and BB&O both beating Norfolk, and the match between Surrey and BB&O ending in a 4-4 draw, the result went down to a points tally, with Surrey running out winners 21-17. The Surrey squad comprised Cam Bell, Arrun Singh Brar, Harry Plowman-Ollington, Sam Barthram, Scott Murray, Charlie Crockett, Lawrence Courtney and Alfie Fox.

SURREY U14S CLAIMS INTER COUNTY LEAGUE Surrey’s U14 team retained the Inter Counties League title at Camberley Heath Golf Club after beating Hertfordshire. On a perfect afternoon for golf with little wind, Hertfordshire got off to a fast start by claiming two and a half points in the first three matches, with Surrey captain Joe Wood claiming a creditable half.

Surrey’s middle order of Demi Di Matteo, Tommy Noel, Luke Stock, Rhys Williams, Ben Kelly, Austin Gambel and Alex Keefe then produced a sparkling fightback, all winning their matches to give Surrey an unassailable lead. The final two matches went to Hertfordshire, making the final score 7½-4½.

B

uckinghamshire’s Tyrrell Hatton secured a longawaited maiden win on the European Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The 24 year old from Marlow fired a recordequalling low score of 23 under par for the tournament, following rounds at Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and St Andrews, to seal the title, which offered a winner’s prize of €711,000.

Hatton, who is a member at Harleyford Golf Club, produced a stunning third round 62 to equal the course record at St Andrews, setting up a healthy three shot lead, before posting an impressive final round 66 at the Old Course to finish four shots ahead of Surrey’s Ross Fisher and South Africa's Richard Sterne.

Hatton got off to a strong start in the final round, rolling in a birdie putt from six feet at the third, before draining a 25-footer at the next to pick up another shot. He dropped his only shot of the round at the par-4 17th, after finding the infamous Road Hole bunker with his approach, but he was able to steady the ship and coolly sink his par putt at the last to seal his first win since joining the European Tour in 2014.

“I've wanted this moment since I was a six year

old walking around Wentworth,” said Hatton, who moved up to fourth in the Race to Dubai rankings following the impressive win. “I was quite nervous for the majority of the last round, but I played really solidly and holed some good putts, and that kept the momentum going. That was key to winning this week.

He added: ”To achieve my first win at the Home of Golf makes it even more special, and hopefully I can have a good end to the year now. One of my goals this season was to get inside the top 50 in the

TARCHETTI TIES WITH BARHAM AT LONDON CLUB

P

rince Golf Club’s Director of Golf Anthony Tarchetti shared the honours with Benn Barham at The VIRTU London Golf Club Heritage Pro-Am. The Kent pair shot five-under-par 67s to take home their winners’ cheques of £638 each, but a tidier finish would have left Tarchetti claiming all the glory for himself, as he was nine-under-par with just two holes to go.

“Dropping a shot at the 17th, a tough hole under

TOBIN TAKES PUTTING TITLE Essex golfer Josh Tobin won the inaugural British Open Putting Championship held at the recently-opened 18-hole putting course at Basildon Golf Centre in Essex.

Over 60 players took part in the 72-hole final, with Tobin taking the title after a four-way play off.

■ TROPHY TIME: TYRRELL HATTON BAGGED HIS FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR WIN AT THE HOME OF GOLF

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world, so to achieve that is a huge result, as it will get me into all the majors and WGC events next season if I can stay there.”

For Fisher, who also finished second in the previous week’s Porsche European Open, it was a case of what might have been – but he was delighted to have turned around his year with strong finishes at such important events. After being 38 under par for his last 144 holes, he has picked up almost €600,000 in two events, and is currently 17th in the Race to Dubai.

any circumstances, was always on the cards, but the 18th is set up for a draw, and at the moment, if I try to do that, it seems to go rather more left than planned, so in the water it went and the rest is history!” said Tarchetti, who is the current captain of The PGA in Kent. “On the other hand, the way I look at it is that I played some fabulous golf for 16 holes, including a two inch tap-in for an eagle on the 15th, and anyway, I’ve been through much worse things in life than making a seven in a Pro-Am!” Barham’s 67 was let down by just the one dropped shot at the sixth, but the Kentish duo of Tarchetti and Barham still managed to outshine Nico Els and Bob Cameron, who both shot 68s.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[11]

GODWIN TAKES CHARGE AT REIGATE HEATH

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eigate Heath Golf Club in Surrey has appointed Amanda Godwin as its new club manager.

Boasting a long heritage of supporting women and juniors in golf, Godwin is the club’s first female manager for over 20 years, although she follows in the first footsteps of Doreen Howard, who occupied the role between 1970-1993.

Godwin joins Reigate Heath after rebuilding the fortunes of another 9-hole club, Strawberry Hill in Twickenham.

■ AMANDA GODWIN “Doreen laid the foundations for the club’s success for over two decades,” said Godwin. “Now, as a members’ golf club in the 21st century, we face all sorts of new and very different challenges. My job is to make sure the experiences the club gives its members and visitors is one they love.

“That’s all about the terrific team of people here. Our pro shop, led by Cliff Gough, our newly-promoted Director of Golf, and our fully-qualified female PGA Professional Leah Roelich. Leah and Cliff are clearly passionate about getting a lot more beginners, women and children into golf, besides looking after the members and visitors.

“The course is both a golfing and an environmental challenge, but course manager Derek Walder and our greenkeeping team work very hard to ensure our historic heathland nine-hole course is always in terrific condition throughout the year, and our greens win constant praise from all who come and play on them.”

CHIPSTEAD’S SUMMER CAMP SUCCESS

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hipstead Golf Club’s annual summer camps once again proved a resounding success, with over 60 children taking part in a series of structured coaching sessions with the Surrey-based venue’s head teaching professional, Nic Torbett.

Torbett, who has established a growing reputation as a junior coach in the region, was delighted with the uptake over the summer holidays, but is keen to encourage kids to carry on developing their skills at the regular weekend sessions that he runs throughout the rest of the year.

“I was delighted by the response I had to the summer camps, but I think it’s just a follow on from the sessions

I run every weekend. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing and it seems to be that the sessions I’m running are proving very popular. I have a number of youngsters showing enormous talent, which in turn should be beneficial to our junior section over the coming years”.

Chipstead, which runs junior group coaching sessions every weekend, has a long history of developing and nurturing young golfers, and continues to provide a safe and structured environment for children to enjoy the game on golf.

For further details about junior coaching at the club, parents should call Nic Torbett on 01737 554939.

ORSETT CAPTURES THORNTON CUP

■ CELTIC MANOR HAS TAKEN EXCEPTION TO A LOCAL CLUB TRADING ON ITS NAME

RYDER CUP VENUE ISSUES LEGAL CHALLENGE

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eltic Manor, host venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup, is threatening legal action against a village golf club in Wales that has changed its name in order to cash in on the status of its more illustrious neighbour.

Palleg Golf Club in Swansea has recently had its name changed to Celtic Minor by its owner in order to attract new members. The club, which is 50 miles away from Celtic Manor in Newport, is owned by businessman John Adams, who took the decision to rename the club in order to give it a higher profile on internet search engines.

Melanie Eaton, club manager at the club, said: "If you type ‘Celtic Manor’ into Google, Celtic Minor pops up just underneath it, so there are advantages to having a similar name. The club had been established a long time, and initially the members didn't want a name change, but the response we get from most of them is brilliant. The club was relatively run down when it was bought out, and the new owner has spent a lot of money, so we need to get the word out.”

But Celtic Manor has taken a dim view of the attempt to profit from its association with the Ryder Cup venue, and resort officials have warned that the club will fight ‘any attempt to take unfair advantage of its reputation’.

A spokesman for the Newportbased venue, which is owned by billionaire Sir Terry Matthews, and boasts three championship golf courses, said: "The Celtic Manor Resort would like to make it clear that Celtic Minor Golf Club has no affiliation with the Celtic Manor Resort. Celtic Manor is a registered trade mark of Celtic Manor Resort Limited (UK) and we reserve all our rights to protect our name from any attempts to take unfair advantage of our reputation or to exploit our goodwill in these services."

Orsett triumphed in the 2016 Thornton Challenge Cup after beating Rochford Hundred 8.5-6.5 in a closely contested final held at Chelmsford Golf Club in Essex.

Playing in front of a gallery of over 200 supporters, Rochford held a 3-2 lead after the morning foursomes, and extended it to 4-2 when Taylor Carter won the first of the afternoon singles match, but Orsett battled back to win the next four matches, to make it 6-4. Andrew Frye gave Rochford its fifth point with a win in match six, but then Dave Tong won match 10 for Orsett to take them within a point of victory. Match 7 was allsquare on the 17th tee, but Paul King took that to give Orsett a slender lead going to the 18th, and then holed a patt putt on the final green to win the title.

EAST HONOURS FOR HERTS’ GIRLS

Hertfordshire won the 2016 East Region Junior Girls Trophy after beating teams from Norfolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire at Bawburgh Golf Club in Norfolk. Each county was represented by six girls, who each played an individudal Stableford round, with the best four scores counting. Herts finished on 154 to win by 11 points from hosts Norfolk, with Essex a further five points back in third.

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR AT WARLEY PARK

Brother and sister Ryan and Ellisha Cox achieved a rare family double last month when winning the men’s and women’s club championships at Warley Park Golf Club in Essex. Ryan, who is currently enrolled on a golf scholarship at New Mexico Junior College in America, won the men’s title for the third time, while it was a first women’s title for 15-year-old sister Ellisha. Ryan also won the colts championship and the men’s mid-week championship.

[12] OCT/NOV 2016 | BRITISH MASTERS REVIEW

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Speaking after his best finish since finishing runner up in The Masters in April, Westwood said: "I played well this week, all things considered. I hit the ball really well tee-togreen and I was very solid on the greens I was very solid. Obviously The Ryder Cup was disappointing for many reasons, and last week I struggled to get my tournament head on, so I'm pleased to get everything back to together and put in a good performance in front of the home fans. It's been a great event, and it was great that so many people came out to support the event.

Richard Bland, who shot a second round 64, shared fourth place with Tommy Fleetwood,

■ GREAT CROWDS TURNED OUT FOR THE BRITISH MASTERS

SWEDE DREAMS

■ LEE WESTWOOD

ARE MADE OF THIS Alex Noren secures third European title in front of a full house at The Grove's staging of the British Masters

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lex Noren may have missed out on a call up for Europe's Ryder Cup team, but the super cool Swede proved that he has all the skills and the temperament to become a regular fixture in future matches, following a nerveless pillar-to-post victory in the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.

In a field that featured half of Europe's squad from Hazeltine, including Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan, and last year's British Masters winner Matt Fitzpatrick, Noren showed that he has the talent to reach the very top of the game, after securing his third win of the season in fine style.

The 34 year old Swede, who has also tasted victory at the Scottish Open and the European Masters this year, produced a closing 69 at The Grove to finish on 18 under par, two strokes

ahead of nearest challenger Bernd Wiesberger.

While the weather behaved itself for the first three days of the tournament, it was too much to hope for four good days in a row in England in mid-October, and Sunday's play was delayed until 10am after heavy rain flood some of the greens. The knock-on effect was a two-tee shart in order to ensure all the field got round in good time. due to flooded greens but the fourth round got under way at 10.05 local time, with some players starting at the tenth tee.

Lying just one shot off the lead after an opening 67, Noren took the tournament by the scruff of the neck with successive fiveunder-par 65s to build a three-shot cushion going into the final day's play.

And he made ■ NOREN RECEIVES the perfect start to THE TROPHY FROM his fourth round, HOST LUKE DONALD notching birdies at each of his first two holes to climb to 18 under. He dropped his

FINISHED THIRD AND WILL HOST THE EVENT AT CLOSE HOUSE NEXT YEAR

first shot of the day at the eighth, after narrowly missing a ten-foot birdie putt.

He then saw his advantage reduced to a single shot when he carded another bogey at the 11th. And then dropped into a share of the lead when Austrian Wiesberger holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the long 15th to join him on 16 under. But Noren regained the outright lead immediately, notching a birdie at the 15th to get back to 17 under. After safely parring the next two holes, Noren finished with a tap-in birdie at the last to clinch his seventh European Tour title in all.

After appearing to struggling at times in his final round, Noren was delighted with his finish.

He said: "I had a tough time with the distances off my wedges and irons in the middle of the round, and my caddie stepped in. Sometimes you're a little bit blind yourself. You think you hit a good shot, but it comes up short, and you never want to blame yourself but he kind of told me what was going on. My putting was probably the best thing this week. I holed a lot of yardage. My chipping and wedge game was a lot better, so it helped me out."

On the subject of clinching his third win of the season, Noren added: "It's an amazing feeling. Honestly I never thought this would happen."

Home favourite Lee Westwood bounced back from his below-par performance in Minnesota to finish third. The 43 year old mixed six birdies with two bogeys on his way to producing a closing 67 on Sunday and a 15 under par total.

Seaford Head Golf Course

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Graeme McDowell, Peter Hanson and Alex Levy on 13 under par. The previous week's winner, Tyrrell Hatton, kept up his good form to finish tied ninth, while last year's British Masters' winner, Fitzpatrick, finished down the field in 49th. Still he fared significantly better than tournament host Luke Donald, who missed the cut by five shots after opening up with first round 77.

Huge crowds – including a sell out 25,000 on the opening day, flocked to The Grove to see tournament golf return to the Watford-based venue for the first time since the World Golf Championship event won by Tiger Woods back in 2006.

Supported by Sky Sports, the tournament once again laid on plenty on entertainment for the crowds, including a floodlit par-3 challenge on the Tuesday night, which was televised large in front of big galleries. The Hero Putt Challenge tested the pros putting skills on the Wednesday, while fans were treated by masterclasses after play each night, including a display of big hitting by recently crowned world long driving champion Joe Miller on Friday. There were also a number of 'walk and talk' interviews with players during the tournament itself, which was another innovation that proved popular with players and viewers alike, with Westwood, Bland and Fleetwood all quizzed by Sky's Tim Barter during the weekend rounds.

Next year's British Masters will be held at Close House Resort in Newcastle, when Westwood, who is attached to the club, will play tournament host.

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NO B W UG jec t t AV G IE o we A at IL S he r c AB on LE di tio ! n

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The View at Seaford Head Golf Course offers more than just golfing occasions.

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Available for weddings, pa ies and business meetings. It really is the place to hold any function. With over 100 possible covers for large groups and a smaller separate room for a more personal gathering.

Call 01323 890139 for more details

Seaford Head Golf Course Southdown Road, Seaford, BN25 4JS Tel: 01323 890139 www.seafordheadgolfcourse.co.uk

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[13]

ABLETT WINS MACDONALD MATCH PLAY TREBLE

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ee-on-the-Solent’s James Ablett captured the Keith MacDonald PGA South Match Play for the third year running, after beating The Lambourne’s Scott Marshall in an epic battle on The Berkshire’s famous Blue course.

On his way to the final, Ablett beat Richard Wallis in the quarter final by 3&1, and then faced Pentland Golf’s Benn Barham in the semi-final over The Berkshire’s Red course.

This turned into a truly gladiatorial contest.

Ablett won three out of the first four holes with birdies, and the two players then swopped more birdies, but Ablett was still three up at the turn.

Going four up by the 14th, Barham then got one hole back at the 15th and another when Ablett

GLENDALE’S SUMMER FESTIVAL HAILED BIG SUCCESS

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bogeyed the 16th. Bunkered on the 17th with Ablett on the green, Barham holed his sand shot for an eagle to be just one down, but pars on the 18th meant it was Ablett who won 1up to go through to the final against Marshall.

In the other semi-final Marshall had beaten Manston’s Max Brackley by 6&4, and so the final was set to be an intriguing contest. In the event, both players couldn’t quite find the same dramatic form they’d enjoyed in the morning, but it was still a titanic struggle as each tried to gain an edge over his rival.

Scott was two up after 12, then Ablett won the 13th and 14th to go all-square, and ,after an argument with a gorse bush, Marshall was one

down after the 16th. Both parred the 17th, but then Marshall hit a majestic tee shot to five feet at the short 18th, and made the birdie putt to square the match again. Both made two putt pars at the 19th, but while Marshall was 40 yards ahead of Ablett’s tee shot on the 20th, Ablett’s second shot with a sand iron over the trap was virtually perfect, finishing six inches from the hole. Marshall finished 15 feet away and when his putt slipped by, Ablett was declared the winner.

Ablett was delighted to have collected a memorable treble. “It feels absolutely fantastic to have battled my way past some of the best players in the region, and defended this title for the third successive year is a proud moment for me.”

FOCUSSED ON SPACE

undreds of people hit a ball for the first time last month, as Glendale

Golf’s second Festival of Golf enjoyed a triumphant return.

Six centres managed by Glendale Golf each attracted an average of over 125 new golfers during the month-long Festival in August.

In total, over 750 beginners hit balls at the six venues, which stretch from London to Lancashire, plus Hampshire, West Sussex, Essex, and Nottinghamshire.

At Castle Point Golf Centre, on Canvey Island in Essex, 41 youngsters had their first-ever golf lesson, and almost 100 people tried FootGolf for the first time. At the group’s Portsmouth Golf Course, over 110 people walked through the doors for the first time during a fun day, which offered a children’s putting contest, free junior and beginner lessons, arts and crafts stalls, and live music.

“We set out to beat last year’s total, and we sailed past it,” said Tom Brooke, managing director at Glendale Golf.

“If you include families who played FootGolf for the very first time, we had well over 900 first-time participants in just four weeks – which is a stunning result given the general feeling that golf is struggling to attract newcomers these days.”

He added: “With two successful festivals behind us, we are now looking at having this sort of activity on our calendar more regularly. Putting our golf centres at the heart of the community is absolutely central to what we are aiming for. My advice to other clubs is to be more open-minded,

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[14] OCT/NOV 2016 | NEWS

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MAJESTIC GANE IN CHARGE AT KINGS HILL

GOODWOOD TEES OFF NEXT PHASE OF DOWNS RENOVATION NEWTON GREEN DUO HEAD FOR TELEGRAPH FINALS Talented Essex-based golfers Alice Barlow and Lily May Humphreys have earned their places in the final of the Telegraph BMW Junior Championships Final, which takes place at Quinta do Lago at the beginning of November. Barlow, 17, and Humphreys, 14, are both members at Newton Green Golf Club. Humphreys, who recently moved from Channels Golf Club, is an England junior international, while Barlow is the current Suffolk ladies and junior champion, and recently won the England Girls County champion of champions title at Woodhall Spa. The Telegraph final has a field of just 21 players – 12 boys and nine girls, with other finalists include Annabel Fuller and Harry Goddard, both of whom are representing Nizel Golf Club in Kent. Past Telegraph champions include Ryder Cup players Justin Rose, Andrew Coltart and Matt Fitzpatrick, while Tommy Fleetwood lost of play-off for the 2008 final to Stiggy Hodgson.

HANTS COLTS CLAIM SE TITLE Hampshire claimed the South East Colts title for a third year running after beating Essex 6.5-5.5 at Seaford Golf Club in East Sussex. It was the third time in a row the two counties had met in the final, but South Division champions Hampshire won back the title they lost last year when Corhampton’s Sam Day, who was two down with three to play, sank a crucial 30-foot birdie putt to win his match on the 18th.

The Hampshire team was without England player Scott Gregory, after he was invited to play in the British Masters at The Grove.

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he next stage of the renovation of Golf At Goodwood’s James Braiddesigned Downs Course began earlier this month, with the 14th, 17th and 18th holes of the Sussex-based venue undergoing a significant facelift at the hands of experienced architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert.

The club has already carried a major bunker renovation project on the majority of the holes on the championship layout, with this next phase due to be completed over the winter.

The substantive changes on the par-3 17th will see the front right of the green lifted and raised, while the right hand back bunker will be filled in and replaced by a run-off area. Two bunkers on the left hand side will also be merged to form a single bunker that will be more

■ THE PAR-3 17TH IS AMONG THE NEXT HOLES TO BE RENOVATED

visible from the tee.

At the par-4 18th hole, the left-hand fairway bunker is being removed, while one of the righthand bunkers is also being filled in, while the other will be renovated and the lifted. Up at the green, the bunker at the back right will be taken out and swale around the green continued into this area.

The final works will involve the 14th, a long par four whose challenge will be increased with the renovation of front bunkers

guarding the green, while the routing of the fairway will be moved slightly to the left to improve the approach angle to the green.

Once this work has been completed, the only remaining renovations will be to the course’s par-4 12th hole, which is planned for the spring or autumn of next year. The work will reduce the number of bunkers on the hole to three and create a larger approach area on the front right of the green.

ASHDOWN ASSISTANT BAGS ORDER OF MERIT TITLE

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oyal Ashdown Forest’s PGA Assistant Professional Jonny Ingram has two reasons to celebrate this month, after winning his first professional tournament, the PGA South Assistants & Trainees Match Play Championship, en route to capturing the Longball PGA South Assistants Order of Merit title.

The 24 year old from West Sussex started his journey to the top with a 10th place in The Golf College Challenge at Lindfield, and then finished second behind Ryan Fitzgerald at the PGA South Assistants & Trainees Championship at Cuddington.

In the Match Play Championship at Epsom Golf Club, Ingram beat Matt Rice (Purley Downs) 3&2 in the semi-final, and then delivered an even more convincing performance to beat Highwoods’ Mathew Andrews by 4&3 in the final.

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ilvermere’s Chris Gane delivered one of the best performances of the PGA South Region season when shooting an 18-under-par total to win the 54-hole Westcoast PGA Southern Professional Championship at Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent The ultra-consistent lefthander finished four shots clear of the field after shooting rounds of 63, 66 and 69 around the links-style layout. Canterbury’s Richard Wallis closed with a superb 65 to secure second place , while the winner of the tournament Pro-Am, Richings Park’s Chris Rodgers, was two shots further back in third place.

Commenting after yet another dominant performance, 42-year-old Gane said: “I love playing Kings Hill – it’s one of those courses where I can see the lines on the greens, and, of course, it was in top condition as usual. With my recent PGA EuroPro Tour win, it’s turning into a good year results-wise.”

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Home to European Tour winner Tyrrell Hatton

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PACKAGE 2 - £200

• 4 individual green fee vouchers for an 18 hole round of golf at Harleyford • 1 individual 12” stone baked artisan pizza voucher • 1 Glenmuir Harleyford logo’d club sweater of your choice from the pro shop NORMAL COST - £220

• 4 individual green fee vouchers for an 18 hole round of golf at Harleyford • 4 individual 8” stone baked artisan pizza vouchers • 1 Harleyford logo’d and 1 Nike polo top of your choice from the pro shop NORMAL COST - £290

PACKAGE 3 - £250 • 4 individual green fee vouchers for an 18 hole round of golf at Harleyford • 4 individual 12” stone baked artisan pizza vouchers • 2 Glenmuir Harleyford logo’d club sweaters of your choice from the pro shop • 1 Nike polo top of your choice from the pro shop NORMAL COST - £370

PACKAGE 4 - £300 • 4 individual green fee vouchers for an 18 hole round of golf at Harleyford • 4 individual 12” stone baked artisan pizza vouchers • 2 Glenmuir Harleyford logo’d club sweaters of your choice from the pro shop • 2 Nike polo tops of your choice from the pro shop NORMAL COST - £440

PACKAGE 5 - £400 • A 3 month membership package running through until 31st March 2016 • Play as much golf as you like for 3 months, with full use of all facilities also included • Also receive 3 individual green fee vouchers so you can bring some guests along with you to enjoy the experience!

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COURSE REVIEW | OCT/NOV 2016

■ THE IMPRESSIVE NEW CLUBHOUSE OPENED FOR MEMBERS AND GUESTS IN JULY

COURSE REVIEW CENTURION CLUB

CENTURION CLUB ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE

The opening of an impressive new clubhouse, which features a restaurant by the Michelin-starred Galvin brothers, signals the next chapter in the development of the Centurion Club, a relaxed and inclusive Hertfordshire-based venue where first-class service matches the quality of the championship course WORDS BY NICK BAYLY

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here’s been a lot of talk of late in the corridors and conference rooms of golf’s governing bodies about the need to bring the game into the 21st century.

Nearing the close of 2016, it seems like these conversations have come several years too late for many clubs up and down the county, with many having already closed the pro shop shutters and mothballed the fairway mowers as golf’s popularity wanes in the face of competition from less timeconsuming, more family-friendly activities.

While there is no doubt that some venues, for whatever reason, were surplus to requirement – with their land worth more for housing than it was for golf – the loss of any golf club should send out a strong signal to all golfers that we should be spending less time seeing what our friends are up to on Facebook and more hours stretching our legs and our minds on the golf course if we are not to see more clubs go under, or be built over, in the near future.

The reasons for golf’s declining popularity are many and varied, but among those that encouraged the owners of the Centurion Club to set up shop on the outskirts of St Albans in 2013 was golf’s failure to keep up to speed with the lifestyle demands of the

■ THE CHALLENGING 10TH AT CENTURION CLUB

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[15]

[16] OCT/NOV 2016 | COURSE REVIEW

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

IT WILL COME AS

NO SURPRISE THAT YOU’LL FIND NO CLUB CAPTAINS OR GREEN COMMITTEES HERE, AND YOU’LL CERTAINLY FIND NO POSTERS EXPLAINING THE DRESS CODE (THERE ISN’T ONE), AND THERE IS A REFRESHING ABSENCE OF NOTICEBOARDS. IT’S ACCESS ALL AREAS, WITH NOT A ‘KEEP OUT’ SIGN IN SIGHT. ■ THE PAR-4 THIRD IS A TRICKY DOGLEG THAT DEMANDS AN ACCURATE DRIVE TO SET UP THE APPROACH TO A RAISED GREEN

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modern member.

The lack of a genuine service culture, draconian dress codes, the endless tee time restrictions, and a diminishing pride in the presentation of golf courses and clubhouses – many of them worn down by years of under-investment – gave the team behind Centurion hope that a club that dared to do something differently could not only survive, but positively thrive.

Located a few miles west of St Albans, and just a few minutes from junction 8 of the M1, Centurion has shaken up the traditional private golf club model by offering a genuinely five-star members experience, while remaining both affordable, yet refreshingly unencumbered by the stuffy and elitist attitudes that many high-end private clubs insist on adhering to.

Providing a blueprint for how a golf club for the 21st century should be operated, Centurion Cub has been open for over three years now, and in that time has attracted a significant number of golfers from nearby clubs who have become disaffected with years of

■ MEMBERS LOCKER ROOMS

underinvestment and an inability to put the needs of the members first.

With Centurion's ethos, it will come as no surprise that you’ll find no club captains or green committees here – and you’ll certainly find no posters explaining the dress code (there isn’t one), there is a refreshing absence of noticeboards. It’s access all areas, with not a ‘keep out’ sign in sight.

While the 18-hole golf course – more of which later – has been open from the beginning, the clubhouse, as is often the case in new builds, came later. And after accommodating its off-course facilities in a small, but extremely well-appointed temporary building, the next and arguably, most impressive phase in the club’s development saw the opening of a brand new clubhouse in July.

An impressive two-storey structure that spans the entire length of the large pond that guards the right-hand approach to the course’s closing hole, the £5 million edifice is the icing on a particular appetising cake, the likes of which are no doubt being baked by the club’s in-house chef, the Michelin-starred Jeff Galvin, whose eponymous restaurant, Galvin at Centurion Club, occupies a stunning spot on the ground floor overlooking the aforementioned final hole.

Jeff, along with his brother, Chris, have long been among the UK’s most revered chefs, and their Frenchinfluenced restaurant portfolio has expanded to a dozen venues in many of the world’s major cities, including two in central London: Galvin at Windows and Galvin La Chapelle.

A keen golfer and local resident, Jeff has taken the opportunity to spread his talents to a section of the catering industry whose reliance on ‘pub classics’ no

longer quite cuts the mustard when it comes to the demands of the discerning golfer. And while you can still get a damn fine bacon sandwich – on homecooked bread, of course – in the relaxed surroundings of the upstairs bar before your round, downstairs in the more formal 80-cover dining room, the seasonallychanging menu offers a slightly more refined culinary experience.

And while it’s undeniably fine dining, you’ll find no foams, smears and emulsions here – just stunning ingredients treated with plenty of respect and a lightness of touch. Take away the view of the golf course, and you’ll believe that you’re in the swanky confines of a luxury hotel, rather than a golf club. Bring back the view, and it just gets even better.

Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, the word about Galvin's talent is already getting out among the local foodie population – the restaurant is open to non-members – and pre-booking is already essential for Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday lunch.

It’s a clever part of the clubhouse’s design that it disguises its true purpose with such skill. All the golfing elements – the locker rooms and the golfer’s bar and lounge – are located upstairs, tucked away from the more public spaces, while the ground floor wouldn’t look out of place in a boutique hotel.

Walk into the side entrance, and past the pro shop – which is also akin to a boutique emporium – and you’d be hard-pressed to know you were in a golf club at all. It’s a light and airy space that moves seamlessly from one area to the next, feeling intimate, yet spacious, and above all, relaxed.

Elsewhere within the building there are separate rooms for private dining and conference spaces, although only members and companies with

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connections to the club are allowed to host corporate golf days here.

And while the main entrance at most clubhouses are often cluttered with a haphazard scattering of trolleys and golf bags, here, all of the accoutrements of golf, including a small buggy fleet, are hidden behind high stone walls – out of sight, yet close at hand.

The club’s managing director is Scott Evans, a genial Scotsman who brings over 30 years’ experience working in golf club management at the likes of Loch Lomond, Bearwood Lakes, London Golf Club and, most recently, Troon Golf Management, to the table – and he knows better than most what it takes to keep discerning golfers happy.

“Our plan from the outset was to create a club that rivals and goes beyond the very best for its quality, while getting rid of all the stuffiness and smallmindedness that permeates many traditional members clubs. You won’t need a certain length of sock or type of trouser to play here, let alone a jacket, and we encourage all our members to bring their families and to treat it as their golfing home from home.”

Evans adds: “Our aim is to build and develop the very best facilities for our members, and let the reputation and standing among the golfing community evolve.

The challenge has been to create a quality product worthy of our location so close to central London, and to be considered one of the finest available.”

While the clubhouse is suitably impressive, the reputation of any golf club still quite rightly hangs on the quality of its golf course, and this is where the Centurion more than lives up to the hype.

While many courses state their claim to fame on a handful of good holes, it’s as hard as it is unfair to single out any one hole at Centurion, given the quality

COURSE REVIEW | OCT/NOV 2016

[17]

■ THE 6TH HOLE AT CENTURION IS A CLASSIC RISK REWARD PAR 5

and variety of the challenges on offer. Measuring 7,084 yards from the back tees, which play to a par of 72, the middle and forward men’s tees take it down to a more manageable 6,454 and 6,115 yards respectively.

The layout begins in an attractive area of pine woodland on the western edge of the 250-acre site, where the opening five holes cut a green swathe through the tree line. A sweeping downhill rightto-left par five opens up proceedings nicely, before switching to a stunning par three, where a raised green provides a tempting, if often elusive target.

This is followed by a superb 405-yard par four, which swings left to right, with a greedy bunker guarding the corner of the dog-leg.

After the beautiful par-three fifth – a 160-yard downhiller to a flat green with little margin for error on all sides – the course opens out over more rolling terrain, although thanks to sizeable mounds between the fairways, a sense of individuality is maintained for almost every hole. The 450-yard sixth is a really testing par five, with a big drive required to bring a flag that is hidden behind a raised bank into play, while the eighth introduces the first of four significant water hazards, although the toughest of them is probably the 12th, a 400-yard par four with a pond fronting the putting surface to catch under-hit approaches.

The 190-yard 14th is as testing a par three as you’ll find, playing uphill all the way to a raised green that has trees back, right and left, and bunkers at the front, while the 150-yard 17th is another stunning short hole, with two trees standing like sentries behind the green, while water lurks to catch anything hit left.

The holes have all been given Latin names, such as Alma Mater, Pro Forma and Hydro, to reflect the Roman history of the local area, and the course closes with the aptly-named Ad Infinitum, a 545-yard par five whose green sits below the clubhouse. With the putting surface protected by a large lake bounded by a stone wall to the right, it’s a fitting finale to a thoroughly entertaining round that will test all parts of your game.

Prepared to tournament specifications, the course offers all year-round playability, with arguably some of the best putting surfaces to be found anywhere in the country. Built on sand, the bent grass surfaces are like carpets – fast, true and firm, yet receptive to the right kind of shot.

Five membership categories are currently offered, including a limited number of founder ‘Senate’ memberships, seven-day memberships, as well as corporate, business, and international. These memberships are the only way to access the course, as visitors can only play as a member’s guest.

■ JEFF AND CHRIS GALVIN HAVE BROUGHT MICHELIN AWARD-WINNING COOKING TO GOLF WITH THE LAUNCH OF GALVIN AT CENTURION

■ THE CLUBHOUSE INTERIORS ARE BOTH LUXURIOUS AND STYLISH

■ THE INVENTIVE MENU IS ALREADY PROVING A BIG HIT WITH MEMBERS AND LOCAL DINERS

“The different membership categories offer greater flexibility to suit each member’s lifestyle,” says Scott.

“We want people to feel that it is their club, and they can come and go as they please. We have created a club that is already renowned for its friendly atmosphere and outstanding standard of service. We want to create a distinct ‘wow’ factor which ensures that once you’ve visited the club, you’ll never forget it.”

I, for one, certainly won’t, and I believe there’ll be plenty of others out there who will agree with me once they’ve had a glimpse of the way they do things at Centurion. As they say, it's all in the detail.

For membership enquiries, or to make a reservation for Galvin at Centurion Club, call 01442 510 520, email hello@centurionclub.co.uk, or visit www.centurionclub.co.uk.

[18] OCT/NOV 2016 | NEWS

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

CLARKE AND WESTWOOD CUT TIES WITH GOLF SCHOOLS D ELLIS GRABS GOWLAND GLORY Hendon’s James Ellis won Middlesex County’s Gowlands Final after beating Northwood’s Robbie Johnson in a closely fought contest at Bush Hill Park. Ellis, who lost to Johnson in last year’s final, exacted swift revenge after making a birdie at the third extra hole of a play off. The losing semi-finalists were Dylan Gadhia (Pinner Hill) and Sean Maxwell (Northwood).

PINNER POUNCES TO WIN ROWSE FINAL Pinner Hill captured the Frank Rowse Trophy for the first time in 42 years when defeating Northwood in the nail-biting final at Fulwell Golf Club. Northwood looked the likely winners after taking a 3-1 lead in the morning singles, but Pinner battled back strongly in the afternoon, and leveled the scores when Alan Findlater secured a vital point in the final match. The resulting play-off saw ex-European Tour player Gary Clarke secure the win for Pinner when beating Middlesex stalwart Justin Phelps after four extra holes.

GRIFFIN GRABS MIDDX HANDICAP CHAMPS Michael Griffin (Trent Park) made it third time lucky in the Middlesex Handicap Championship, after scorching to 39 points on a hot in early autumn day at Wkye Green Golf Club. Having come close in the previous two years, Griffin finished one point ahead of Gary Leach (Pinner Hill) in a 52-strong field comprising players with handicaps ranging from 10 to 21. In the team event, Ealing's A team, consisting of Warren Blanchett, Michael O'Malley, and Gerard Poyntz, took home the spoils with a combined score of 102.

arren Clarke and Lee Westwood have both ended their relationships with golf schools set up in their respective names.

Clarke has severed his links with a golf school in County Antrim operating under his name amid increasing scrutiny of its management. The 2016 Ryder Cup captain had no involvement in the management or day-today running of the venture, and association was via a licence arrangement only.

The 48-year-old's move follows a similar decision by his former Ryder Cup teammate Lee Westwood to cut ties with his eponymous golf schools in Cheshire and Essex. Both the Clarke and Westwood schools are run by businessman Karl Norris and his wife Noelle.

A spokesperson for Clarke's management agent ISM confirmed that their client no longer had any involvement with the school that bears his name. "Although neither ISM or Darren is aware of any issues or concerns regarding the Darren Clarke Golf School specifically, Darren has served notice to terminate the relevant licence arrangement," said the

COLES CLAIMS EASTERN SPOILS

E spokesperson.

The Clarke School - which is the only one of its type in Ireland - has been operating for four years and offers its participants two-year courses aimed at developing and enhancing their golfing skills, education, lifestyle, psychology and fitness. Its facilities include a USPGA three-hole training course, putting and chipping greens, outdoor all-weather driving mats, an eight-bay covered driving range, as well as a video analysis unit.

The school could technically continue, although without

■ CLARKE HAS ENDED A LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH A GOLF SCHOOL IN NORTHERN IRELAND

enjoying Clarke’s name, patronage or support. Last month it was reported that the Cheshire branch of the Westwood Golf School was at the centre of a legal dispute over unpaid fees, with two sets of parents withdrawing their children from courses following complains about substandard tuition.

A recent Investigation by The Times newspaper revealed that the school - which described itself as delivering ‘a highly robust educational programme within a golfing environment’ - was not subject to oversight by Ofsted or the Department for Education.

The Education Funding Agency has published a critical report on the school's subcontracting arrangements, and case papers lodged at Manchester County Court also allege that the Westwood school withheld wages from students who worked at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at St Andrews in 2014.

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ssex’s Rob Coles struck at the double - bagging the East Anglian Open and the PGA East Region 2016 Order of Merit title.

The 44-year-old former European Tour star put together two highclass rounds at The Rayleigh Club to win by three shots from Chase Davis (Sprowston Manor).

Coles’ win lifted him from third to first on the Weston Homessponsored Order of Merit as he narrowly edged out long-time leader Ian Campbell (Cheshunt Park).

Coles said: “It’s brilliant. I’d have been chuffed with top-three, so I’m absolutely delighted to win it and follow really good names on the salver. It’s been really nice to play with everyone this year – it has just been really good and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. The Order of Merit events have been great.”

Essex’s James Webber (Three Rivers) finished third in the overall standings and – like Coles and Campbell – will head to next month’s PGA Play-Offs showdown at Saunton Golf Club in Devon, where the elite professionals from all seven PGA regions will assemble.

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GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

COMPETITION | OCT/NOV 2016

[19]

WIN A £500 GOLF BREAK

TO HEYTHROP PARK! Golf News has teamed up with the fabulous Heythrop Park Resort in Oxfordshire to offer a two-night golf break for one lucky Golf News reader.

DATING BACK TO 1710, Heythrop Park is a quintessential English country estate, which seamlessly combines elegance with style.

Boasting two individual hotels – the elegant Heythrop Park Hotel and the stylish Crowne Plaza Hotel – the resort also offers a championship 18-hole course, health club and spa, together with state-of-the-art conference facilities.

Located 30 minutes west of Oxford, near Chipping Norton, Heythrop Park has long been a stopping point for tourists on the Cotswold heritage trail – Blenheim Palace is only a few miles away – but only came on the map as a golfing destination in 2009, with the opening of the 7,008-yard Bainbridge course, which was designed by Tom Mackenzie.

Despite its youth, the 440-acre course is blessed with maturity beyond its years, with 300 years of majestic woodland providing a stunning canvas on which MacKenzie has worked wonders. The championship course has also proved a worthy tournament venue, having hosted this summer’s Bridgestone Challenge on the European Challenge Tour.

The opening four holes ease you gently into the round as you move away from the house, but the layout really gets into its stride in a superb stretch which starts from the dramatic downhill par-four fifth, and runs all the way through to the challenging 203-yard par-three 13th.

Lakes, streams, huge rises and drops in elevation and a clever use of the topography has created some superb holes that will test every part of your game and require every club in the bag – especially if you decide to play off the very back of the five teeing options.

The 314-yard, par-four sixth will be many players’ highlight, presenting a driveable par four over water that offers genuine reward, but plenty of risk. The last three holes are no less demanding, with the gun-barrel straight 18th, bordered by an avenue of trees, offering a challenge that is unique to Heythrop. Looking straight down to the majestic house in the distance, it definitely leaves its mark on your mind – and on your card, should you happen to suffer a fade or a slice.

The mansion house offers 17 stunning suites, which are definitely worth booking for those who want to push the boat out for a special occasion, while equally impressive accommodation is available at Heythrop Park Hotel, located on either side of the mansion house, which offers a choice of rooms in the Shrewsbury and Archer wings. Alternatively, the four-star Crowne Plaza Hotel has 197 en-suite rooms.

A variety of dining experiences await at Heythrop Park.

Tempting afternoon teas on the sunlit terrace overlooking the south lawns, to elegant dining in the contemporary and stylish Brassey restaurant.

GOLF DAYS AND SOCIETIES Set in the tranquil Surrey countryside between Woking and Guildford, Sutton Green is an exceptional golf club.

Co designed by former world no.1 Laura Davies Sutton Green GC is the perfect venue for golf days, societies and days out with friends. We have various golf day options available and can tailor the day to your specific requirements.

For golf with friends Book Online at www.suttongreengc.co.uk to play 18 holes at competitive rates and golf buggy’s can be pre booked at the pro shop.

Golf Day Packages start from just £25.00 For more information please call Alex MacDonald or Bernie White on 01483 747898 or email admin@suttongreengc.co.uk New Lane, Sutton Green, Nr Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7QF.

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THE PRIZE

This exclusive prize, which is worth £500, will include: ·

·

·

Two nights' dinner, bed & breakfast for two people (sharing a twin or double room).

Two rounds of golf on the 18-hole Bainbridge Course (with buggies, if required).

Complimentary use of the health club.

The prize must be taken between December 1, 2016 and April 30, 2017. Dates are subject to availability. For more details on golf breaks to Heythrop Park, or to make a booking, call 01608 673488 or go to www.heythropparkresort.com.

TO ENTER

To enter, please answer the question below and where you picked up your copy of Golfnews and email it to: info@golfnews.co.uk with ‘Heythrop Park Competition’ in the subject line.

The closing date for entries is November 15, 2016.

QUESTION

Who designed Heythrop Park’s Bainbridge Course? a) Tom Fazio b) Tom Watson c) Tom MacKenzie

[20] OCT/NOV 2016 | EDDIE PEPPERELL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

PEP TALK

Nick Bayly caught up with European Tour pro Eddie Pepperell at Stoke Park Country Club, and found a player acutely aware of the fragility of a career in the paid ranks

A

fter enjoying an almost serene start to your professional career since 2013, it seems like this year has been a bit of a struggle for you.

Is that a fair assessment, and how would you rate your current season out of 10?

It’s definitely been average. It might even be a 4. It hasn’t been good up until now, that’s for sure. But things can change quickly, so I’m not writing the year off just yet.

I think I reached a tipping point some time last year. Life was great – I had paid off my mortgage, was eating out five times a week, and never thought twice about the cost of petrol or business class flights. Although I didn’t think I was being lazy at the time, compared to the way I was working before that time, I probably was.

What’s been the issue?

My golf has been heading backwards for around a year, but it took me about nine months to realise it. The reason for my poor run is that I just haven’t been hitting enough fairways.

My fairways in regulation stats are around 45%, and not a long way down there either [287 yards]. I’ve been standing on the tee, and not really having a clue about where the ball is going to go. I’ve been saving my scores with other areas of my game, but I knew that if I wanted to get to the level where I think my game should be, I was going to have to shake things up. I needed a different opinion. So I made the decision to change coaches in July, and I’m now working with an American coach called Dave Wedzik.

swing that eradicates one side of the golf course, and that will breed confidence.

How did your paths cross?

The only other European Tour player Dave works with is Bradley Dredge. I’ve played with Bradley a couple of times this season, and both times his driving was awesome – night and day from what he says it was 18 months ago – so I figured that I needed a bit of what he’d got. I spoke to him, and he put me in touch with Dave.

He’s based in Pennsylvania, and I’m over here, so I won’t physically be seeing him very often, maybe once or twice a season, but we keep in touch via Skype and email, and I send him swing sequences on video and he gives me feedback. So far, it’s working well. My driving has definitely improved, even if my results haven’t, but more than anything it’s fresh perspective. I’ve got to be a bit patient, as things aren’t going to suddenly turn around overnight, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

You were in a good position to win the Kings Cup in Thailand in July, but let it slip over the closing holes.

What do you put that down to?

Yeah, it was a strange one. I was leading with four holes to go, but I missed a short par putt on 15, and then hit it in the lake on 16, and it all sort of unraveled. By then I’d lost all my momentum and I missed another short putt on 17, and then hit it in the water on 18. I dropped five shots on the last four holes and lost by four.

The bizarre thing was that I wasn’t even playing that well leading up to that point, and the whole tournament was a bit of struggle, if I’m honest. The course was quite easy, and I was relying on my timing to get away with a few bad swings, especially with my driver. I managed to shoot 63 in the third round, which put me in the mix, but I wasn’t playing with any great degree of confidence. In that instance, my putting let me down, which is normally a strong part of my game – but I hadn’t spent a lot of time working on my short game, as I’ve been more worried about my long game.

Given your troubles with the driver, have you thought about using a 3-wood more often off the tee?

A lot of people have suggested that, and I have taken the driver out of the bag at a couple of tournaments this year.

I did it at the Abu Dhabi Championship back in February, but I still hit some pretty horrifying shots, so that didn’t seem like a long term solution to me. The trouble is that I’m hitting it left and right, with no obvious pattern to my misses. If it’s just going in one direction, you can sort of deal with that, but when there’s no consistency, there’s just nowhere to hide. It scrambles your mind. I need to create a

There’s a perverse logic that says you should practise your strengths more than your weaknesses. Does that hold any water with you?

No, I’ve never believed in that, because ultimately your weaknesses will show up when you least want them to. I’ve always tried to turn my weaknesses into my strengths, or at least, less of a weakness.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

EDDIE PEPPERELL | OCT/NOV 2016

[21]

KIDS ARE INTO MORE ATHLETIC TEAM SPORTS AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. BUT IT’S NOT JUST A GOLF PROBLEM – ALL SPORTS ARE IN DECLINE IN TERMS OF PARTICIPATION, PERHAPS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CYCLING

Looking at your results since you joined the European Tour in 2013, some of your best returns have been at links courses – County Down, St Andrews, Zandvoort, Gullane. What is about that type of course that suits your game?

I think that links courses are a bit of a leveller, in that the conditions count against a lot more players than they help, so players like me, who played quite a bit of links golf in their more recent amateur days, have a slight advantage. Links courses are generally more forgiving off the tee – you can often take a driver out of the bag and use a 2-iron – and they reward accurate approach play, so that’s probably why I’ve fared better over those types of courses.

Sadly, apart from The Open and one or two other events, most of the big tournaments aren’t held on links courses, so you can’t get by just playing well in those that are.

Follow Eddie Pepperell’s exploits on tour at eddiepepperell. wordpress.com

What is the strongest part of your game?

Traditionally my mid irons and wedge play have been the best part of my game. My putting is generally pretty solid, although it can be streaky at times. I’ve never been a particularly fantastic driver of the ball, and I’m not sure I ever will be, but I’ve got to be better than I have been, and that’s why I made the decision to change coach.

You’ve written about staying in good hotels and flying business class when you’re on tour. Do you feel like that gives you the best possible chance of playing well?

I work hard and feel like if you’re going to invest all your time and effort into something, you might as well be comfortable while you’re doing it. So I do like to stay in the best hotels, and by flying business class you hope to arrive in better shape than if you flew economy, especially on long-haul flights. It certainly costs me, but I feel like I’ve earned it.

You’ve said in the past that you don’t hold much store by setting goals. Does that still hold true for you?

Goals are what can stop people from falling behind, because they should have a link between outcome and intrinsic drive. The problem with me is, I wouldn’t retain the drive or motivation from any goals I could set, because I know in reality they have no meaning. My motivation in the past has come from my struggles, and the knowledge that I don’t want to go through those experiences again.

So, as you can imagine, right now I am fully motivated.

Playing good golf is my aim. It’s best not to have expectations – good or bad.

There have been moves to shake up the traditional 72-hole stroke play tournament format a bit. Are you in favour of that?

I was chatting to Bradley Dredge and Johan Carlsson at the tournament in Denmark about this a few months ago, and we all thought that having a match play tournament where players are wearing microphones would be one idea. There was a lot of banter between us on the tee, something that people don’t get to see or hear when they’re watching a tournament. It might help make fans realise that were not just robots hitting shots, but we’re real people who can have a laugh.

I played alongside Nick Dougherty at the British Masters last year, when he was miked up for Sky, and it seemed to go down well. I don’t think Nick wanted to bother me, but I would have been happy to have talked to him had he asked.

Having said that, I don’t think we need to stray too far from what we have, as you risk alienating people who are attracted to the game because of its current format.

Eighteen holes is still a good number – I often wish there were more – but I don’t think that shortened formats are going to be the saviour of the game. 20-20 has been great for cricket, but it’s the Ashes, and test matches, that true cricket fans still care the most about.

Pro-Ams are increasingly being seen as a way for fans to connect with players. How do you find the whole Pro-Am experience?

I’ve played in a lot of Pro-Ams this year, as those lower down the Race to Dubai have to play in them more often. I understand their importance, and I think I’m getting better at them as I get older, but they can be pretty boring. It depends a lot on who you get paired with. I played with a guy at the Czech Masters who owned a restaurant and another guy who supplied wines, and we had a good chat about food and wine the whole way round, which was great. And then the week before that I played with a banker from Credit Suisse, who was interesting, and we had a chat about the financial markets, which was great.

But then there are times you’re playing with guys who can’t hit their hats, and it takes six hours. It is what it is. You put on your game face and get on with it.

Is slow play an issue for you on tour?

Yes, I probably get bored for 15 tournaments out of 25 a year on the golf course, while for the other 10 I’m frustrated. No one enjoys long rounds, but what can you do? We’re generally playing golf courses that are 7,200 yards long, with long walks between tees, so you’re not going to whizz round in four hours with a three-ball.

Do you get any sense that golf is in crisis at a club level?

Golf clubs are generally populated by older people, and it’s something I also notice at tournaments, too. I don’t know, I think that golf is a sport that is best suited to an adult lifestyle. Kids are into more athletic team sports and that’s a good thing. But it’s not just a golf problem – all sports are in decline in terms of participation, perhaps with the exception of cycling. Yes, golf does have an image problem, and it takes too much time, but there are lots of things being done to tackle those issues.

Who inspired you to take up golf?

My dad played a bit, but he didn’t really push me into it. My and I used to go up to the club with him, and it went from there. I grew up in the

Tiger Woods era, and he was pretty awesome to watch on TV, but I never had an idol, or someone who I’d say inspired me.

Did you watch the golf at the Olympics?

Yes, I tuned in to watch it, but to be honest it bored the living daylights out of me. Not because of the tournament per se, but because of the quality of the coverage. It was just so boring. The commentators didn’t know who or what they were talking about, which was a shame. I was happy for it to be included in the Games, but I don’t think having it in there will have any impact in terms of global participation.

You’re a brand ambassador for Wolsey on Tour. How did that come about and what do you specifically like about its clothes?

I’ve been with them since the start of last season, and it’s been great to have a brand as established and experienced as Wolsey supporting my career. They’ve got some really cool designs, so I am well catered for.

I’ve always preferred the smart, traditional look, as opposed to the bright colours and modern ways of dressing, which I think Wolsey fits in quite nicely with. It’s not garish or out there, more classy and subtle, and that kind of suits my style.

I love the polo shirts, which could look really cool untucked on the golf course – it’s a bit different and I’m all for that. I would like to see more of a crossover between golf and fashion. I think golf needs to become attractive and fashionable to younger people, and clothing is a great way of doing that.

Are you involved in the design process at all or would you like to be?

No, not really, the guys at Wolsey are the experts, and I’m more than happy to wear what they tell me to. I think what I also quite like about the brand is that they’re at a similar stage to me in terms of golf. We’re both at the beginning, and hopefully we can move forward together, and that’s an idea that I've always quite liked.

I noticed you experimented with the camouflage gear last year?

Yeah, I tried it once, but I saw what it looked like on Rocky [Robert Rock], and decided it’s not really my thing!

You’ve got to have a certain personality to carry it off.

WHAT’S IN EDDIE’S BAG? TAYLORMADE M2 DRIVER (10) TAYLORMADE UDI UTILITY (1, 2) TAYLORMADE PSI IRONS (3-PW) TAYLORMADE TP EF WEDGES (51, 55, 59) ODYSSEY NO.7 FANG PUTTER TAYLORMADE TP X BALL

You’ve kept up with your online blog since 2012 – what made you start writing it and how much enjoyment do you get from it?

I was reading a lot of books at the time and had lots of thoughts, so I thought I would put them down in writing. One day I might look back at it and learn something, and other people might also pick up on things and learn from it, which would be good. Some blog posts that I’ve written about periods in my career are very reflective and I find that it’s a good way for me to clarify all of that. I don’t feel like I'm writing it for a purpose, or about anything in particular, it’s more about my experiences and my feelings at the time. They’re quite personal and, well, they’re individual.

[22] OCT/NOV 2016 | MEET THE PRO

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

And how should clubs go about retaining members? Maintaining a joining fee increases membership loyalty, and then retention is all about perceived value. Practice facilities, social events and a club atmosphere all help prevent the members from doing the ‘how much every round has cost’ calculation.

Top golf clubs know their qualit y wines - Benguela Cove w w w.benguelacove.co.uk

MEET THE

PRO

How much time do you spend teaching? I average 12 hours per week.

What’s the most common swing fault you have to correct?

Incorrect face angle at impact, which subsequently leads to plenty of grip adjustments.

Carl Bianco, the head PGA professional at Woking Golf Club, left a dangerous career in the armed forces to take up the challenges of teaching golfers to square the face at impact How did you get into the golf industry? I left school with an RAF scholarship for officer training, and did seven years on a short-service commission, which included serving in the first Gulf War. I left the air force when I was 25, when the UK was in the middle of a recession in 1993. I bumped into an old friend behind the counter at Wavendon Golf Centre in Milton Keynes, and before I knew it I was working alongside him, and so I sort of fell into it. I started as a PGA assistant, and after two years at Wavendon I spent a short spell at Aspley Guise, and then at West Essex. Once I qualified, I spent a year teaching in Germany, and I joined Woking in 1999 as head pro, and I’ve been here ever since.

What is your day-to-day role?

I’m the head professional in a very traditional sense, so I am responsible for providing a firstclass retail service, coaching to all

standards of player, and welcoming members and visitors to the club. I also sit on committees within the club to offer guidance and experience on golfing matters.

There is also a great practice ground with covered bays, and early in 2017 we will be building a large swing studio offering a SAM putt lab and full GC2/ HMT facilities.

What’s the best thing about your job? I love the challenge of retailing successfully, the satisfaction of helping golfers play better, employing and training young assistants and working hard to feel respected and valued by the club members.

What is the club doing to attract junior and female golfers? We run an annual Ladies Academy and offer junior group lessons in the school holidays. We’re currently in the fortunate position of not finding it difficult to attract new members.

What is Woking’s unique selling point? Woking is a heathland course steeped in tradition and history, and the course has hardly changed at all since it opened in 1893. It is the oldest heathland course in Surrey. The greens have been laid down since then, and they are known for being completely unique. A century ago the greens were four times the size of normal greens, and even today they are still considered to be big, and they are hideously undulating.

What would stimulate more people to play golf?

I think we need a shorter format of the game, to simplify the rules, and get rid of the dress code.

STOP COMING UP SHORT!

What’s selling well in the pro shop recently? Over the past few years we have concentrated on selling more clothing for on and off-course use. With the increasing technology available in golf clothing, this has become an area of specialisation for us.

If you could change one rule in golf what would it be? Free drop from divots in the fairway.

What’s the best swing tip you’ve ever received? It’s not a swing tip as such, but ‘never play two recovery shots in a row’ is always good advice!

What has been your career highlight as a player?

I won an assistants’ event many years ago, and more recently had the privilege of taking Tom Watson around Woking. I don’t play much competitive stuff now, but still enjoy working hard on my game.

Who is your golfing hero and why?

Tiger Woods. He took the game to a whole new level and, at his best, was amazing to watch.

Which three other people would be in your dream fourball?

Tiger Woods, Peter Kay and Richard Dawkins.

What would you have done if you hadn’t been a pro?

I’d probably still be in the RAF as a supply and logistics officer, although if I had my time again, I’d like to have studied law and become a barrister.

■ 16TH HOLE, WOKING GOLF CLUB

Assessment

Pic. 1 Pic. 2

O

ne of the most critical factors in the success of any golf shot is the ability to strike to the centre of the club face and this is even MORE important when it comes to your putting!

One of the biggest reasons for a player “coming up short” especially on longer putts is because the strike has

occurred too low on the putter face. This type of contact transfers less energy to the golf ball than if it was struck out of the ‘sweet spot’ or centre of the face. On a 30 foot putt this could result in the ball finishing as much as 10 feet short of the hole depending on how low on the face the contact is!

The data in picture 2 right is showing an upwards attack angle in excess of 7 degrees and a low point that is between 4.40 and 5.30 inches behind the ball, resulting in the strike off the bottom on the face.

Most players will conclude they simply did not hit the ball hard enough or blame their poor judgement of pace or the fact they “just couldn’t feel the speed of the greens.”

In many instances the truth is the player may well have had the correct stroke length to roll the ball the desired distance but they were simply unaware of the fact they miss-struck the ball. This is dangerous conclusion to make as the next time they face a 30 footer they will give the putt a little extra to make sure it gets there and of course this time strike it right out of the centre and blast the ball 10 foot past!

This can happen for a number of reasons. The ball could be too far forward in the stance, the handle could be leaning too far back behind the ball or the player could be using their wrists too much through the strike. In any case, it is very difficult for a player to work out what has happened because the feeling of a strike low off the face with a putter is very subtle compared to that of say a driver. If you strike a drive off the bottom of the face not only can you instantly feel it but the effect on the ball flight is obvious. With a putt

The most common reason for a strike off the bottom of the face is because the lowest point of the stroke is too far behind the ball. You can see from the picture 1 above the coloured lines tracking the putter head are travelling on too much of an upward trajectory towards the ball:

CONTACT DETAILS Email: paul@my-golf-academy.co.uk Mobile: 07515 128228

the feeling in the strike may not be immediately noticeable but what is noticeable is the ball finishing too far short of the hole. So the next time you leave a long putt short, the first question you should ask yourself is “Did I strike that out of the centre of the face?”

If you struggle to control distance on the greens the correct diagnosis of ‘why’ is crucial if you are to make the most of your valuable practice time working on the correct thing. To answer all of the questions about your putting, call or email using the contact details below to book your 90 minute assessment session and all will be revealed!

MY GOLF ACADEMY Horne Park Golf Centre, South Godstone, Surrey RH9 8JP

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[23]

LOBB SETS UP NEW COURSE DESIGN FIRM

S

urrey-based golf course architect Tim Lobb has launched his own design firm, Lobb + Partners, following the decision of five-time Open champion Peter Thomson, the chairman of Thomson Perrett and Lobb (TPL), to retire from

the firm at the age of 87.

Though he will be the only golf architect on the staff of the new firm, Lobb said the name was chosen very deliberately. “I believe the golf design and development world is changing, with clients ■ LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET

looking for help putting together a total team to help them with their projects,” he explained. “My partners are everyone I have met and worked with in the industry over the years, from masterplanners to agronomists to project managers to marketeers, and that means I can bring an experienced team of people with a complete range of skills to any project.”

Lobb, whose offices are based at Reigate Hill Golf Club, said: “Peter’s retirement was a planned event, so we have been thinking about

■ TIM LOBB HAS RENOVATED MANY UK CLUBS, INCLUDING RICHMOND GC IN SURREY

STARS COME OUT TO SUPPORT RON NOADES’ MEMORIAL DINNER AT SURREY NATIONAL

S

urrey National Golf Club was the scene for a sparkling reception dinner last month, when it played host to the third Ron Noades Annual Memorial Dinner.

This year’s event was held in support of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and remembered Mr Noades’ good friend Ronnie Corbett, a member at The Addington, a sister course to Surrey National, who died from the disease earlier this year.

Hosted by Noades’ widow, Novello, the event was a huge success, receiving fantastic support

from family, friends and celebrities, including ex-Olympian Jamie Baulch, Costa Coffee founder Yolanda Costa, Ingrid Tarrant, former Bucks Fizz manager Nichola Hill, ex-footballer Mark Bright, and music producer Lisa Voice among them. The evening’s host was veteran disc jockey David ‘Kid’ Jensen. Corbett’s widow, Anne, and the couple’s two daughters, Sophie and Emma, also attended the evening with their children.

Arriving to a Prosecco Bar, guests were then led into the main reception for a dinner with games, a raffle, auction and table

entertainment. A silent auction was held in addition to the live auction, which featured many exclusive ‘money can’t buy’ prizes, including a training session with Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni; a West Ham boardroom experience donated by David Gold; and a rare opportunity to join Sir Cliff Richard

the transition for a while. I had a great 12 years working in partnership with Peter and Ross Perrett, and they will remain two of my closest friends. But now is the time for a new direction.”

While working for TPL, Lobb was responsible for the renovation/ restoration of a number of historically important golf courses in the South East, including as St Georges Hill, The Berkshire, Woking, Wimbledon Park, The Richmond, Burhill and The Buckinghamshire.

Lobb will continue to support TPL clients in countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UK, while pursuing new projects.

at a private dinner party hosted by Mrs Noades in Barbados, which was won by a successful bid from Ronnie Corbett’s family.

Guests were kept entertained throughout the evening with closeup magic from celebrity illusionist and magician David Redfearn, before dancing into the early hours to music from Tony Andrews’ disco.

Host Novello Noades said: “Every year I am overwhelmed at the tremendous level of support we receive. We have some very generous friends and supporters. This year I am thrilled that, together, we have raised over £15,000, a significant increase on last year, for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.”

NEVILL MOTORS TO SUSSEX TEAM TITLE Nevill Golf Club won the Birchwood Motor Group Trophy final after beating Slinfold Park 3-2 at East Brighton. The match was tied at 2-2 after the first four matches, with two games halved and one win apiece, before Nevill’s Andy Wren and Steve Mellor inflicted a 3&2 defeat over James Wiloughby and Gareth Taylor to take the title. The plate final was won by Cowdray Park, but only on holes up, after the match against Haywards Heath was tied at 2.5-2.5.

CROCKETT CAPTURES SURREY MASTERS Addington Palace’s Simon Crocket won the 2016 Surrey Masters after shooting a level par 72 over Walton Heath’s New Course.

Crockett’s total was matched by Andy Inglis, but a better back nine secured the title for Crocket on countback. The Surrey Order of Merit Trophy was won by David Corben with an accumulated points score of 177, which saw him finish well clear of runner-up Callum Grant Mackay (West Hill) with a total of 90. Neither player was able to take part in the Surrey Masters.

IRELAND HALTS ENGLAND’S WINNING RUN England’s longstanding unbeaten run in the U16 boys’ international series was brought to an end by Ireland in a highquality match on the Isle of Man. England won all three matches last year, and had beaten Wales and Scotland this season, but the Irish edged past them by a point in the latest matches at Castletown Golf Links, winning 8.5-7.5. England won the foursomes 3-1 and halved the fourballs 2-2, but lost the singles 5.5-2.5. Stoke Park’s Connor Gough was top scorer for England with an unbeaten performance of 2.5 points from three games.

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[24] OCT/NOV 2016 | JOE MILLER

MILLER TIME Golf News talks to newly-crowned World Long Drive Champion Joe ‘The Total Package’ Miller’ and finds out what it takes to routinely crunch the ball over 430 yards

H

ow long was your winning drive at this month’s World Long Driving Championship?

The drive that won me the title was measured at 423 yards, although I hit one 439 yards in the semis, and I also registered 437 yards in the quarters.

You won the same title in 2010. Did you always believe that you could win it back after such a long gap?

Yeah, I did. It’s been building up since 2010. I’ve been working hard,

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training hard, and all the work has paid off.

When did you first you realise that you could hit the ball farther than most?

Pretty much as soon as I started playing golf seriously – around the age of 11 or 12. Even then, I had the ability to hit it past everyone at my club and was able to hit the ball 300 yards.

How did it develop from there?

I won a couple of club championships before entering a long-driving competition at Stoke Park in 2003, when I was 18. I didn’t do very well, as I was just using a standard driver and I didn’t really know about custom fitting. Two years later I won the European Championship and set a new European record at 474 yards and it just went from there. I then won the World Long Drive Championships in 2010 and it’s been a full-time job ever since.

What are the basic principles of long driving?

Wide stance, soft hands, big shoulder turn, even bigger wrist hinge, huge hip turn and a late snap.

Simple. It’s all about understanding the correct delivery line and the angle of attack, keeping the left arm

and clubhead aligned at impact, so that you don’t release too early and lose all that stored up power. I’m 6ft 4 inches tall and weigh over 19 stone, so I’ve got the physical makeup to hit it long, but it’s also about technique, and having the right equipment, as well has having raw power and strength.

How much time do you spend in the gym and what do you work on?

I’m in Norton’s gym at Welwyn Garden City seven days a week and my nutrition is on point seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I don’t do too much golf-specific training, I just focus on the major muscle groups – legs, shoulders, arms abs.

I can bench press 200kg and squat lift around 260-280kg. I generally do about 90 minutes of weights a day.

What separates the very best long drivers?

At the top end of competition it comes down to speed; who’s got the fastest clubhead speed and who can hit it out of the middle of the face most often, because at that level everyone knows how to optimize their swing. When you swing it at 150+mph, you can’t be hitting it anywhere other than

WIDE STANCE, SOFT HANDS, BIG SHOULDER TURN, EVEN BIGGER WRIST HINGE, HUGE HIP TURN AND A LATE SNAP. SIMPLE

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the middle of the face. For me it’s all about speed. If I swing it at 156mph and hit it out the middle, no one’s going to catch me.

Your equipment is obviously key.

What driver are you using and how is it set up for you?

I was previously using Callaway’s original XR driver for competitions, but I switched to the new XR Pro LD driver at the beginning of the year which has the same size and construction as the commercial Pro model – very low spin and neutral bias – but with much lower loft of 2°, which gives me the best trajectory and highest ball speed for maximum distance. The shaft, which is built to the maximum allowed of 50 inches long, has been made specifically for me by Fujikura. It weighs 62g and has a much higher kick point than on a standard driver, with lower torque, which gives me more control for really aggressive swinging.

I’m really pleased with the way the XR 16 is performing and my numbers keep improving. I just won the World Long Drive Championships with it, so its clearly working for me right now!

JOE MILLER’S VITAL STATISTICS AGE: 32 WEIGHT: 19ST HEIGHT: 6FT 4 INCHES DRIVER: CALLAWAY GOLF XR 16 LD LOFT: 2 DEGREES SHAFT: 48” WITH XX SHAFT CLUBHEAD SPEED: 150MPH BALL SPEED: 225MPH SMASH FACTOR: 1.50 LAUNCH ANGLE: 11.7 DEGREES SPIN RATE: 1200 RPM DISTANCE: 400+ YARDS

How useful has the advancements in swing analysis technology helped your long driving?

It’s all about the numbers these days – launch angles, spin rates, angle of attach and swing/ball speeds, so being able to monitor all these factors has been brilliant when it comes to dialing in the right specifications and set ups for my equipment and working out where your losing distance. I use Flightscope to tack my stats. I tend with launch the ball at about 15 degrees, with an angle of attack of about 12, and a spin rate of between 1,000-1,600rpm. However, it’s important not to get too hung up on the numbers, and focus on putting a good swing on it. So much of success in competitive long driving is being in the right frame of mind on the day, and you won’t find that on a computer.

What restrictions are placed on equipment for competitions?

The clubhead has to be no bigger than 460cc; the shaft can’t be longer than 50 inches, and tees can’t be longer than four inches.

They supply the golf balls, which is currently a specially-made TopFlite.

I use Callaway’s Speed Regime 3 in practice, which has the right amount of compression and spin.

In your role as an ambassador for

JOE MILLER | OCT/NOV 2016 [25]

AT THE TOP END OF COMPETITION IT COMES DOWN TO SPEED; WHO’S GOT THE FASTEST CLUBHEAD SPEED AND WHO CAN HIT IT OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE FACE MOST OFTEN Callaway do you need to be partathlete, part-showman?

Yes, doing long driving demos is not for shy, retiring types.

We’re kind of like trick shot specialists. There’s an element of showbusiness about it, and you need to make it entertaining, otherwise it’s just watching me hit balls into the distance. I like

to pull out a putter and hit shots with it off a tee. I’ve hit it over 300 yards with an Odyssey 2-Ball, so my short game is in pretty good shape, too! It’s also great doing demos with regular golfers and trying to get them to hit the ball a few yards farther, as well as showing off what I can do.

It’s also great to meet up with

tour players, and play alongside legends such as Gary Player and Colin Montgomerie.

Callaway’s support has been fantastic. I really enjoy being part of the technical development team, and trying out all the new kit. It’s an exciting opportunity to work with golfers of all ages and skill levels, helping them to develop their long game.

Are you a bit bored of people asking whether you’ve got a rubbish short game?

Yes, it’s a common misconception, and my iron play and putting is

pretty good thanks! I just happen to be able to hit the ball a long way, and people are prepared to pay me to do it, so it seems like a reasonable career choice.

So what kind of diet are you on?

I wouldn’t call it a diet, more the opposite. I do eat quite a lot – around 8,000 calories a day ­– but I also spend a lot of time in the gym to work that off. I tend to have between six and eight meals a day. I eat a lot of eggs (six for breakfast), chicken, rice, pasta and steak. I also drink a lot of whey protein shakes.

[26] OCT/NOV 2016 | NEWS

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

PLANT SOWS THE SEED FOR EISENHOWER MEDAL A birdie by Kent’s Alfie Plant on the final hole gave England the silver medal at the World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico.

The team, of Yorkshire’s Jamie Bower, Hampshire’s Scott Gregory and Sundridge Park-based Plant, finished on 19 under par, as England recorded their best ever result in the Eisenhower Trophy. Plant, who tied third in the individual competition on 12 under, knew what he had to do as he stood over his six-foot putt on the 72nd hole of competition.

“Once I knew I had to make the putt for birdie, I just went through my normal routine, and thankfully it went in,” said Plant, who made seven birdies in his final round 66. “It’s been a great week, we’ve recorded our highest finish in the event as a team, and it was great to get up on the stage for a medal.”

SUTTON TO THE FORE Sutton Green Golf Club won the Surrey Foursomes Championship after beating West Byfleet 3&2 in the final held at Surrey Downs. The winning club was represented by Ross Buchanan and Daniel Murray.

ALL TO PLAY FOR AT DESERT SPRINGS The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour’s Matchroom Sport Tour Championship will carry a £90,000 prize fund, with £20,000 going to the winner at Desert Springs Resort in Spain. The increased first prize means that any one of 60 players winning the 54-hole tournament could climb into the top five in the Race To Desert Springs, which would earn playing rights on the 2017 Challenge Tour.

IT’S OFFICIAL: PLAY GOLF AND LIVE LONGER! P laying golf can add years to your life and prevent serious conditions, such as heart disease and dementia, researchers have found.

To its detractors, golf is a 'good walk spoiled', as American author Mark Twain once put it, but a major review of the health benefits of the game shows it has significant physical and mental value for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Scientists analysed findings from 5,000 studies looking at associations between golf and wellbeing.

Their review, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, concludes that playing golf can improve the health of hearts, arteries and lungs, and has a positive effect on metabolism. It could also help people suffering from chronic conditions including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, bowel and breast cancer, and the effects of stroke.

The physical benefits were said to increase with age, and older players experienced improved balance and stamina, researchers said.

Dr Andrew Murray, from the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We know that the moderate physical activity that golf provides increases life

■ GOLF CAN LOWER THE RISKS OF SUFFERING HEART DISEASE, TYPE 2 DIABETES AND A VARIETY OF CANCERS expectancy, has mental health benefits, and can help prevent and treat more than 40 major chronic diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer.”

He added: “Evidence suggests golfers live longer than non-golfers, enjoying improvements in cholesterol levels, body composition, wellness, self-esteem and self-worth. Given that the sport can be played by the very young to the very old, this demonstrates a wide variety of health benefits for people of all ages.”

The study found golfers typically burned a

minimum of 500 calories over 18 holes, walking between four and six miles. The physical aspects of golf could also help reduce the risk of anxiety, depression and dementia, researchers found.

The study is part of the Golf and Health Project, led by the World Golf Foundation. Future research will focus on the effects of golf on mental health, muscle strengthening and balance. A number of tour pros are acting as ambassadors for the project, including Padraig Harrington, Aaron Baddeley, Annika Sorenstam, Brooke Henderson, Gary Player, Ryann O'Toole, So Yeon Ryu and Zach Johnson.

BGL’s Management in Training scheme, and hopes to use his wealth of experience to further enhance the member and visitor experience at the club.

“I’m looking forward to getting know the members and the club, and working towards

improving the facilities and overall experience for those who visit us here at Wycombe Heights,” he commented. “It’s great to know that Robin and Simon join me at the club with years of invaluable experience, and together, I hope that we can make the club a hub for leisure activities within the local community,” he continued.

Cheng is taking on the role of head professional, and already has plans for the teaching academy, most notably to build up the junior academy, while Tunn, who is stepping into the course manager’s position, is committing to gcontinuing the ongoing bunker renovation project, and ensuring that the standards of the course are kept consistently high.

WYCOMBE HEIGHTS UNVEILS NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM

W

ycombe Heights Golf Centre in Buckinghamshire has announced the arrival of three new members of staff to join the club’s management team.

Howard Craft, Robin Cheng, and Simon Tunn have all joined the senior team at the BGL-operated venue in High Wycombe, having progressed through the ranks at other venues operated by the company across the country.

Craft, the new general manager, graduated from

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[27]

DIVOT DAMAGE FORCES GLENEAGLES TO RELOCATE DONALDSON'S RYDER CUP 'SHOT OF A LIFETIME' MARKER ROOPE TIES UP HAMPSHIRE ORDER OF MERIT TITLE

A

plaque that was placed on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles to commemorate the shot that won the 2014 Ryder Cup has had to be removed after too many amateur golfers tried to recreate it.

To mark Jamie Donaldson’s stunning 146-yard wedge to within a foot of the flag, the Welshman was invited to unveil a commemorative plaque on the Ryder Cup course’s 15th fairway. But now Gleneagles has been forced to relocate the plaque celebrating the pinpoint pitch – which Donaldson described as ‘the shot of my life’ – because visiting golfers couldn’t resist trying to emulate the Welshman’s fabulous strike. And that has had Gleneagles staff working overtime carrying out running divot repairs.

Gary Silcock, Gleneagles’ Director of Golf, said: “The 2014 Ryder Cup was a phenomenal experience, and an event that’s still being celebrated by our visitors today. Donaldson’s famous two shots – his remarkable 293-yard drive followed by an even better 146-yard shot to the pin – captured the world’s imagination, and naturally many golfers are eager to see if they can recreate his perfect wedge shot. This resulted in a big area of divots in the centre of the fairway, which was spoiling the experience for guests. We’ve therefore relocated the commemorative plaque to the tee – in true celebration of Donaldson’s achievement that day, and to maintain the fairway in the pristine condition he experienced.”

■ JAMIE DONALDSON HITS THE WEDGE THAT WON THE 2010 RYDER CUP

TICKETS FOR OPEN AT BIRKDALE GO ON SALE

T

ickets for next year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale went on sale last month, with a variety of advanced season prices and different ticket options on offer to encourage fans to book up early, as well as entice a wider cross-section of golf fans.

In a bid to attract a younger crowd to attend golf’s oldest major, the R&A has extended its youth tickets programme to cover those aged between 16-24, rather than the upper age limit of 21 imposed at Royal Troon in July. This age group will also be able to apply for the free camping accommodation that was on offer this year.

Adult daily tickets for the tournament, which takes place during the week of July 16-23, will be available from £15 for practice days (July 16-19) and £60 for championship days (July 20-23). Fans paying by Mastercard – the Open’s official credit card – will receive a £5 discount on all ticket purchases.

Weekly tickets are available for £230 before February 28, representing

a saving of £105 on the daily ticket prices for the full week.

Following its successful launch at St Andrews in 2015, a limited number of twilight tickets will also be on offer again, providing access to the course from 4pm onwards for the first and second rounds, for £25.

The Kids Go Free initiative is also being continued, with free admission to children under the age of 16 providing they are accompanied by a paying adult.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director of Championships at the R&A, said: “Our aim is to deliver the best possible experience for golf fans and to ensure that the championship remains affordable and accessible. There are few sports events in the world where fans can get so close to the star names.

Innovations including the Sky Open Zone practice area and player autograph zone will return in 2017.

Reduced early season pricing, our Kids Go Free policy and free camping accommodation for under-25s are also part of that commitment.”

For tickets, visit www.TheOpen.com/Tickets.

Blackmoor Golf Club’s Colin Roope has become the first player to land both the Hampshire Order of Merit gross and nett titles in the same season. Roope, who only joined Blackmoor at the start of the year, following a move from Farhman in Surrey, became just the second name on the Cullen Quaich after Hayling’s Darren Walkley grabbed the gross prize in the competition’s first two seasons.

The 36-year-old recruitment company director needed a second place finish at his club’s open held at the end of August to secure a lead going into the Courage Trophy, the final strokeplay event on the county calendar. But with bonus points awarded for the players’ performance in the Solent Salver, Roope had to wait until the Courage Trophy scores had been added to the 36-hole qualifier at June’s county championship to be certain of claiming the nett Order of Merit, as well as the gross prize.

HINDHEAD WINS SCRATCH PLATE Hindhead won the Surrey Inter Club Knockout Scratch Plate after beating Mitcham in the final held at West Surrey.

COPSEY IN SEVENTH HEAVEN AT PUTTENHAM PRO-AM Poult Wood professional David Copsey bagged his seventh victory on the PGA South Region’s Pro-Am schedule when sharing the spoils with another prolific winner James Ablett, at the Puttenham Pro-Am. Copsey fired a three-under par 68 to finish at the top of the leaderboard, but had a last-hole bogey from his rival for gifting him a share of the first place prize money, after the Lee-on-Solent pro airmailed the green with his approach the final green, and was unable to get up and down for par.

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[28] OCT/NOV 2016 | ARNOLD PALMER

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ARNOLD PALMER 1929-2016 Arnold Palmer broke the mould as both a player and a businessman, exploiting his immense skill and huge popularity with the fans to build a billion dollar empire that continued to thrive 50 years after he won his last major

I

t’s a fair bet that few of those who have sipped on a refreshing glass of Arnold Palmer’s Half and Half Ice Tea ever saw ‘The King’ swing a club during one of his 95 professional victories. However, it’s a measure of Palmer’s place in America’s sporting folklore that an 87-year-old man, who hadn’t won a golf tournament in over 30 years, still had the commercial clout to sell a soft drinks like there was no tomorrow.

While Arnie’s Army – the name given to the fans that used to line the fairways using cardboard periscopes to catch a glimpse of their hero – had long since dissipated, following his retirement from the game in the mid-1980s, Palmer had the power to make the tills ring like no other golfer that came before or, despite Tiger Woods’ best efforts, after.

While he won just under $2 million during a 53-year playing career – a sum that Jordan Spieth eclipsed just by winning the Masters and the US Open – Palmer amassed a fortune of over $1.3 billion from his offcourse activities.

His empire stretches across a variety of enterprises and continents, from the aforementioned tea-based drinks brand, which has an annual turnover some way north of $200m, to his Floridabased golf course design

PALMER'S SWASHBUCKLING PLAYING STYLE LURED NEW FANS TO THE GAME, FATTENED TOUR PRIZE MONEY, AND BOOSTED TV RATINGS

business, which has built dozens of courses around the world, and put its name to countless others as part of a shrewd franchise deal that trades on his good name.

According to Forbes magazine’s 2015 Rich List, Palmer ranked only second behind basketball legend Michael Jordan in terms of earnings achieved by a retired sportsman, with over $40 million banked last year alone.

A large percentage of his income came from licensing out his brand – a deal that saw his name above the door in over 400 shops in Asia, which sell clothing and leather goods bearing Palmer’s famous multi-coloured umbrella logo.

The Lear jets and corporate deals were all a far cry from Palmer’s humble beginnings in the backwoods of Pennsylvania in the 1930s, when young Arnie first picked up a club at Latrobe Country Club, where his father combined the jobs of head professional and greenkeeper.

A natural from the outset, Palmer won a college golf scholarship, and quickly progressed through the amateur ranks. His golf career was stalled by a three-year stint in the US Coastguard, after which he went back to college. Soon after graduating, though, he won the US Amateur in 1954 and immediately made the decision to turn pro.

Winning the Canadian Open in his first season on tour in 1955, Palmer stepped up to the big leagues when he won the Masters in 1958, with his stunning victory at Augusta capturing the imagination of the public, as well as the attentions of an Ohio-based lawyer, and fledgling sports agent, who went by the name of Mark McCormack.

McCormack saw the 28-year-old Palmer’s potential to elevate golf to a new level in the public consciousness, and signed him up as International Management Group’s first ever client. The partnership was as inspired as it was successful. Rather than concentrating on tournament victories – although there were plenty of those – McCormack focused on promoting his client’s showbiz personality to create a brand with global appeal. Palmer's swashbuckling playing style lured new fans to the game, fattened tour prize money, boosted TV ratings, and helped usher in a colourful new era for what was previously a very grey and dull sport played mainly by the older generation.

While Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, Palmer’s rivals

THE LEAR JETS AND CORPORATE DEALS WERE ALL A FAR CRY FROM PALMER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN THE BACK WOODS OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE 1930S

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ARNOLD PALMER | OCT/NOV 2016 [29]

“HE WAS THE KING OF OUR SPORT AND ALWAYS WILL BE” A collection of some of the tributes paid to Arnold Palmer

He was one of my best and closest friends. Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was more than a golfer – he was an icon. He was a legend and a pioneer. He took the game to a higher level virtually by himself, and aIong the way he collected millions of adoring fans.

We were great competitors, who loved competing against each ■ PALMER AT THE MASTERS IN MARCH other, but we were always great friends. Arnold always had my back, and I had his. That never changed.

He was the king of our sport and always will be.

JACK NICKLAUS

I knew that I could always call him for advice, and l looked forward to seeing him every year at Bay Hill and the Masters. Arnold touched so many people, and his philanthropic work will be remembered alongside his accomplishments in golf. It’s hard to imagine anyone more important to the game than The King.

TIGER WOODS

It was an honour and privilege to have known Arnold, and I will be forever grateful for his friendship. It was an honour to be a lockermate with at Augusta. He inspired millions, changed the game, and will be forever missed.

JORDAN SPIETH

Thank you for being you and giving me the opportunity to do what I get to do every day. I will never forget the bear hug you gave me in front of the clubhouse at Augusta, and watching you hit your final tee shot there.

RICKIE FOWLER

You had this incredible ability to open the eyes of the world to the beauty of golf. You played with presidents, celebrities and business leaders, and in doing so you opened the game to commercialisation. For this I thank you.

Our sport will always remember you.

GREG NORMAN

It is not an exaggeration to say there would be no modern day PGA Tour without Arnold Palmer. There would be no PGA Tour Champions without Arnold Palmer. No one has had a greater impact on those who play our great sport or who are touched by it.

TOM FINCHEM, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER

throughout the 60s and 70s, may have won more majors than ‘The King’, neither had nearly as many fans. Palmer’s popularity single-handedly elevated the Masters, which he won four times, from an also-ran invitational into the massive commercial enterprise that it is today, while his victories at the Open Championship in 1961 and 1962 helped revive a tournament that most Americans used to swerve because of its small prize fund and the high cost of travel.

Despite a deep-seated fear of flying, Palmer travelled back and forth across the Atlantic to build up his global following, and even learned to fly his own plane to help conquer his anxiety of being up in the air.

After a near 60-year career, which yielded seven majors and 95 tournament wins, Palmer played his last PGA Tour event in 2004, and his last Champions Tour event in 2006, thereafter devoting most of his time to his course design business and his numerous charity foundations. Despite giving up his role as honorary starter at the Masters several years ago, he was reported to have hit a golf ball every day up until a few months before his death on September 25.

"I'm not worth a darn anymore," he once said. "But golf keeps me going."

■ PALMER LEARNED TO FLY HIS OWN PLANE TO OVERCOME HIS FEAR OF FLYING

We were blessed that Arnold Palmer chose golf as a profession. Born the son of a PGA Professional, he inherited his father’s boundless passion for growing the game and reaching out to others. The countless lives that he touched, both within our industry and outside the gallery ropes, elevated golf to unprecedented heights. Our game lost a legend, but Arnold Palmer will forever be in our hearts.

■ PALMER

WON THE OPEN IN 1961 AND 1962

DEREK SPRAGUE, PRESIDENT, PGA OF AMERICA

Although he was a great champion, Palmer had all of the human frailties and did things that ordinary people did – and that’s why they fell in love with him. The fans admired Jack Nicklaus, but they loved Arnold Palmer.

PETER ALLISS

Arnold was my role model on and off the course. As an amateur I played my very first practice round at the Masters with him at his invitation. I saw how much time and attention he gave to the fans, and his great generosity. I know that I am a better player, and a better person, for having known him.

PHIL MICKELSON

It isn’t fair to just talk about his contributions to golf and philanthropic endeavours. Arnold was an American hero. I would have been proud to work with him for one day, let alone 28 years.

ERIK LARSEN, ARNOLD PALMER DESIGN ■ PALMER AND NICKLAUS WERE FIERCE RIVALS AND GREAT FRIENDS

[30] OCT/NOV 2016 | FEATURE

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DISTINCTIVE TIMEPIECES FOR GOLFERS

E T I Q U S . C O . U K

A LOOK BACK IN TIME ARNOLD PALMER • 1961 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP • ROYAL BIRKDALE

AMONG THE MANY SIGNIFICANT and lasting influences that the late Arnold Palmer had on the professional game, few was more impactful than his decision to cross the Atlantic to take part in The Open Championship in 1960.

At a time when few leading American players considered the tournament worthy of the expensive and time-consuming 7,000-mile ocean voyage, Palmer bucked the trend.

Encouraged by his recently-appointed agent’s desire to broaden his client’s appeal overseas, Palmer also had another good reason to make the journey to St Andrews, as, following victories in that season’s Masters and the US Open, he was bidding for a hat-trick of Majors that hadn’t been achieved since Ben Hogan in 1953.

Keen to emulate the success of Hogan, Palmer embraced the challenges that The Open demands of is competitors, with his aggressive style of play and American swagger breathing new life into a tournament that was in danger of becoming an irrelevance on the global golfing stage.

Palmer wasted no time in adapting to the unique demand of links golf, with his bid for a first-time win – and a Major treble – only denied by Australia’s Kel Nagle, who pipped him to the Claret Jug by a single stroke.

The experience, although ending in narrow failure, served to inspire Palmer to come back the following year to Royal Birkdale, where his elevated status as a global superstar ensured huge crowds turned out to watch him play.

The tournament was hit by high winds and torrential rain, but the adverse conditions only seemed to bring out the best in Palmer, whose legend grew even bigger during the opening round, when, after finding his ball in an almost unplayable position under bush on the 16th hole, he pulled out a 6-iron and proceeded to smash his ball onto the green to the crowd’s delight.

A plaque was duly laid down which marks the feat to this day.

Leading by just one shot with 18 holes to play, after rounds of 70, 73 and 69, Palmer fired a closing level par 72 to hold off a determined challenge by Welshman Dai Rees to claim his first Claret Jug – and a first prize of £1,400.

At the following year’s Open at Royal Troon, Palmer was faced with much stronger opposition in the defence of his title, as the field included a host of fellow Americans, including Jack Nicklaus – who had edged out Palmer in the previous month’s US Open – and the veteran Sam Snead, who was still a force to be reckoned.

It also included several other rising stars from overseas, including Gary Player, Peter Thomson and Bob Charles.

With Troon playing fast and hard, and the wind once again getting up to gale force at times in the early rounds, Palmer was back in his element. Fighting off a cold, and wearing long johns under his trousers, he opened up with rounds of 71 and 67 to lead old rival Kel Nagle by two shots at the halfway stage. In those days

The Open required the field to play 36 holes on the final day, so that pros could get back to their clubs to give lessons at the weekend, so it was all to play for on the Friday.

Palmer quickly lost his lead when Nagle birdied the opening two holes of the third round, while he dropped a shot at the fourth. Undeterred by his lapse, Palmer quickly rallied with birdies at the fifth and the sixth to reclaim the lead. Troon’s fearsome back nine took its toll on the field, with Nicklaus racking up a 10 on the treacherous 11th, but it held no such fears for Palmer, who chalked up birdies at 13, 15, 16 and 17 to shoot a course record-breaking 67 and lead the tournament by five shots.

By the 11th hole of the final round, Palmer’s lead had been extended to 10, and a crowd of over 15,000 fans – few of which had paid to get in – threatened to engulf ‘The King’ as he strode to certain victory.

When Palmer finally made it through the police cordon to the 18th green, he staggered in mock exhaustion, before sinking his birdie putt to win by six shots from Nagle. It was the biggest margin of victory at the Open since 1929, while his 12-under-par total was the lowest in Open history.

Writing in The Guardian following Palmer’s victory, golf journalist Pat Ward-Thomas said of Palmer: "If one adds to his technical ability, an active enquiring mind, that rare blend of immense self-confidence and true modesty, the ability to acquire concentration through a relaxed approach, and a truly formidable desire to win that is never outwardly aggressive, here is a remarkable man. For all the sum of his achievements in titles and money, Palmer remains a delightful, friendly human being who commands respect and affection."

Palmer never came close to winning The Open again, with a best finish of seventh in 1972 and 1977. He made his last cut in 1983, aged 54, and his final appearance in 1995 at St Andrews, back where his love affair with the tournament first began.

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NEWS | OCT/NOV 2016

[31]

POOR SERVICE AND FOOD TOP LIST OF COMPLAINTS

F

orget about the speed of the greens, the depth of the sand in the bunkers, or the state of the locker rooms, it’s the quality of the bacon rolls, efficient service in the pro shop, and the friendly face behind the bar that most golfers are most concerned about when they visit a golf club in England.

According to a recent survey of over 1,000 negative comments posted by members of the public on travel website TripAdvisor, by far the two biggest sources of dissatisfaction among golfers was poor customer service (33%) and low quality food (31%).

Less than 10% of negative reviews were related to the quality of the golf course, while draconian dress codes, often thought be common bone of contention with golfers, proved to annoy less than five per cent of golfers.

Tripadvisor reviewers are often known for complaining about feeling financially ripped off, but just six per cent of reviewers cited ‘price’ as a reason for a bad experience at a golf club. Pace of play, or lack of it, is supposedly another common source of angst among golfers, but it provoked a negative reaction on TripAdvisor from just 4% of complainants.

“England is a nation of complainers, and it seems golfers are no different,” said a spokesman for Golfsupport, an equipment retailer that carried out the survey. “Poor customer service was the most common complaint made by TripAdvisor users who visited golf clubs in England over the last year. They accounted for approximately 32 per cent of all complaints, which was to be expected, as most modern consumers simply won’t stand for bad service.”

“Golf club staff are in need of a little training or motivation, because this is the biggest downfall, and one of the most common pitfalls in the services industry. Many reviewers claimed how they ‘would not return’ following the poor service received, describing the behaviour of pro shop staff, along with clubhouse waiting staff as ‘inexcusable’. This is the last thing the industry needs, at a time when golf club membership rates are in decline.”

LANCASHIRE CLAIMS ENGLISH SENIORS Lancashire won the English Senior Men’s County Championship after beating defending champions BB&O in a titledeciding match at Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire. Lancashire took the morning foursomes 2-1, and although BB&O battled back in the singles, with five of the six games going to the 18th hole, Lancashire ran out 4-2 winners, to take the title 6-3. Devon came third after beating Worcestershire 5-4.

SUSSEX AMATEURS

STORM TO AMERICAN GOLF GLORY

T

wo amateur pairs from Sussex enjoyed the sweet taste of success following victories at the inaugural American Golf’s National Championship held at The Belfry.

Worthing pair Maggie Hopkins and Sarah Cooper-Olsen took top honours in the Ladies’ Championship, while Bognor Regis duo Ian Hendry and Martin Leo captured the Seniors’ title following 36 holes over the iconic Brabazon course, venue for numerous Ryder Cup clashes down the years.

Each grand final brought together qualifiers from all over the UK and Ireland to play.

Hopkins and Cooper-Olesen, who play their golf at Rustington Golf Centre and Worthing Golf Club respectively, amassed an impressive 63 points through the wind and rain to take the title by two points from fellow south coast pairing Charlotte Hinge and Celine Grachet, representing Brighton &

Hove Golf Club.

After securing a memorable win, Cooper-Olsen said: “Maggie invited me to come and play a free round of golf with her at the Rustington qualifier. We sneaked in as third place qualifiers, but we put together two good rounds and now we’re Ladies’ Champions! After Maggie hit an air shot on the first tee I didn’t fancy our chances. I the had to hit my drive through tears of laughter, and we haven’t stopped laughing since! The whole event has been incredible. Our experience with American Golf has just got better and better, and I can’t thank them enough for a hosting a wonderful championship.”

HAYLING’S LATE CHARGE WINS CHAMPION CLUB TITLE The three-man team from Hayling Golf Club in Hampshire staged a tremendous late charge to win the English Champion Club title by two shots at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club on the Suffolk/Essex border.

After the first round on the Gainsborough course, Toby Burden, Richard Harris and Kevin Hickman were 19 over par, in 16th place, and 14 shots behind the halfway leaders, Woburn.

On the second day, they were still 19-over par after completing 27 holes, but they zipped through

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Hertfordshire professional Matt Wallace achieved his highest finish on the Challenge Tour after sharing fourth at the Terre dei Consoli Open in Italy. The 26 year old from Moor Park Golf Club fired rounds 68, 69 and 72 to finish alongside five other players on nine-under-par, four adrift of Sweden’s Johan Edfors, who won the title by three shots.

SHIN CAPTURES BB&O ORDER OF MERIT TITLE Castle Royle’s Tim Shin won the BB&O’s 2016 Order of Merit after racking up 38.5 points during the course of the season.

The title went down to the final event, the Autumn Trophy at The Lambourne, which was won by Dan Caton (Burnham Beeches), but with Shin taking fourth place, longtime Order of Merit leader Rymer Smith (Buckinghamshire) dropped down into third on the points table, while Caton moved up to second.

SOUTH BUCKS CHIPS IN FOR CHAIRMAN'S CHARITY

the final nine in a team total of eight under par, and rocketed to the top of the leaderboard. Burden and Hickman both went round in fourunder 67, while Harris added level par 71 for a total of 11-over par.

They finished two clear of Worksop and Woburn, which tied on 13 over par. This was Hayling’s first victory in this prestigious championship, which will now seem them represent England in the European Men’s Club Trophy at Aroeira Golf Club in Portugal later this month.

The South Buckinghamshire Golf Course in Stoke Poges held its annual chairman's charity golf day on September 16, with 23 teams teeing off to raise money for the chairman's community fund, which provides small grants to help local causes. The day, which included breakfast, golf and lunch, as well as a number of competitions, raised £5,757.

All team and individual winners were presented with golf vouchers and a prize donated by Carlsberg. The overall winner of the day was the Three Amigos team, consisting of Neil Sarin, John Devitt and Jeff Norman, who play regularly at Farnham Park Golf Club, who took away the Busby-Reed trophy.

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[32] OCT/NOV 2016 | RYDER CUP REVIEW

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2016 RYDER CUP REVIEW

HOW AMERICA ROSE TO THE TASK Team USA lived up to its billing as hot favourites for the 2016 Ryder Cup by inflicting a heavy defeat on Europe in one of the most one-sided encounters in recent renewals. But it was a victory for planning just as much as it was for performance

REPORT BY NICK BAYLY PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

I ■ AT LAST: TEAM USA CELEBRATE RYAN MOORE'S WIN WHICH TOOK THEM TO 14.5 POINTS

t needed a task force, a collection of the world’s greatest golfing minds, 12 outstanding players, and an experienced captain, but Team USA ‘16 finally managed to halt the European golfing juggernaut in its tracks at the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club, following three days of intense and, at times, feisty competition.

USA 17, Europe 11. Those are the bare facts of a no holds barred contest that ultimately led to a widely predicted victory for the home side.

A third win in only 17 years for ‘U-S-A’ served to rekindle a match that had been in danger – albeit a slight one – of becoming a little too predictable for the neutral observer. Although it won’t feel that way for Darren Clarke and his 12 vanquished men, who suffered Europe’s heaviest defeat for 35 years in Minnesota.

Played against a backdrop of fierce nationalistic US pride, 2016 was the year that the Ryder Cup got personal – very personal. Personal for the generations of players, including 46-year-old Phil Mickelson, who had tasted defeat in all but two of his previous 10 outings stretching back to 1995; personal for US team captain Davis Love III, who had been on the receiving end of defeat at the 'Miracle at Medinah' in 2012; and personal for the millions of golf fans across America, and the 50,000 that lined the fairways at Hazeltine, who had, like the players, grown tired of forever being the bridesmaid in this biennial clash of continents.

The tone for the matches was set, inadvertently perhaps, by a few throwaway sentences written on a website by Danny Willett’s now infamous brother, Peter. A school teacher by trade, he should have known better than to stir up a veritable hornet’s nest by referring to American Ryder Cup crowds as a load of ‘fat, lazy, imbeciles’, and a long list of other rather unflattering generalisations that merely served to add grist to the mill for an already incensed group of fans who were literally baying for European blood to be spilt on Hazeltine’s carpet-like greens by the time the matches got under way.

Thankfully, it never came to that – but Willett, and several of his European comrades, came in for a level of sledging the likes of which hadn’t been heard, nor seen, since the dark days of Brookline in 1999, when the Ryder Cup moved off the back pages and onto the front for all

the wrong reasons.

It was easy to lose count of the number of times European players had to back off from shots as the shouts of ‘Hit it in the water’ and ‘You’re gonna miss it’ sounded out from the packed galleries. Rory McIlroy, as the team’s top-ranked player and public enemy No.2, came in for more personal stick than most, with American fans singing out verses of ‘Sweet Caroline’, in reference to the world No.3’s ex-fiancée Caroline Wozniacki, as he prepared to tee off.

As the tension ramped up, the Irishman, who was not afraid to take on the fans, called out two spectators for personal remarks made directly to his face. Their ejection from the course did little to quell the Colosseum-style atmosphere in which the matches were now being played out.

It was against that messy canvas that Friday’s opening foursomes matches were painted, and it was perhaps no surprise that the European team was caught like a proverbial rabbit in the headlights under the American onslaught. Clarke’s supposedly strongest pairings folded tamely to a 4-0 ‘red-wash’ – an opening score line not seen since Walton Heath in 1975.

No side had come back from such a heavy early reverse to take the trophy, so it was to Europe’s credit that they came out in the afternoon fourballs – traditionally America’s strongest format – and reduced the deficit to just two, with a 3-1 win, for a 5-3 first day score in America’s favour.

McIlroy, after losing his opening match when paired with Andy Sullivan, was teamed up with Thomas Pieters – who had been thrown to the sharks when paired with the abject Lee Westwood in the morning – to bag the first of their three collective points, while it was no surprise to see two hugely out of form players, Kaymer and Willlett, suffer Europe’s only reverse, hammered 5&4 by Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker.

Europe’s deficit was closed still further following Saturday’s morning foursomes, with the match now teetering in the balance at 6.5-5.5, as the visitors closed within one following a 2.5-1.5 victory, where McIlroy and Pieters teamed up for their second point, and the all-Spanish pairing of Garcia and Cabrera-Bello summoned up the spirit of Seve to come from four down with six holes to play to grab the most unlikely of halves.

But if the door had been left slightly open by the hosts that morning, they firmly shut it in the visitors's face on Saturday afternoon, when, roared on by an increasingly frenzied crowd, and fuelled by a day’s worth of beer, America romped to a 3-1 win in the final fourball series to take a three-point lead going into the Sunday singles.

The turning point, if there hadn’t already been several, came late in the day, when all square with two to play, Westwood missed a par putt from no distance to lose the 17th, and then missed a three-foot birdie putt on 18 to hand the point to the disbelieving pairing of JB Holmes and Ryan Moore.

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■ BELGIUM'S THOMAS PIETERS WAS EUROPE'S TOP SCORER WITH FOUR POINTS

RYDER CUP REVIEW | OCT/NOV 2016

While all the talk in the European camp was of Medinah-style margins and fat ladies not being even close to buildings, most impartial observers knew that the writing was on the wall, and that only a total reversal of the form that had been there for all to see on the first two days would see the home side thwarted.

And while the scoreboard turned blue for a brief moment in early exchanges on Sunday, once all the matches were out on the course, it quickly became clear that the strength in depth of Team USA would be too much for a European team lacking in firepower from one to 12.

With the 7,600-yard Hazeltine course predictably set up to suit the home side – minimal rough, fast greens and accessible pin positions – the US gorged themselves on the familiar diet of smash ‘n’ grab golf that PGA Tour players habitually dine on.

Despite the inescapable result, Sunday’s singles matches once again lived up to their billing as one of the most thrilling sporting spectacles there is, with a succession of spell-binding contests, the quality of which has rarely been witnessed since the matches began back in 1927.

Patrick Reed’s battle with McIlroy, the first match on the course, leapt out from the draw sheet the moment it was confirmed. The pair did not disappoint, most pertinently during a four-hole stretch from the 5th, which saw a combined total of nine under par. Three of those holes were halved in birdies, the 8th especially notable, as McIlroy’s 65ft putt for a two was followed in by Reed from half that distance.

While the opening match set the tone for the day, the match of the week involved García and Phil Mickelson, who, by the time they took to the 18th tee, had collectively produced 17 birdies. Another two followed on the last, meaning a halved match and respective rounds of 63. It was match play golf of the very highest order, and neither player deserved to lose.

The deciding moment, with the claiming of 14½ points, belonged to final US wildcard pick Moore, who came back from two down with three to play to see off the challenge of another captain’s pick, the unfortunate Westwood, who ended the week with no points and question marks hanging over his inclusion in the team. Stuck on 23 points, it was a sad, but somewhat predictable end to a marvellous Ryder Cup run.

Westwood was one of four Englishmen to emerge with nothing to show for their efforts, with out-of-form Masters’ champion Willett failing to get on the scoreboard from his three matches, while Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick, both of

[33]

■ PATRICK REED KEPT THE EUROPEAN CROWDS QUIET WHEN BEATING RORY MCILROY IN A FIESTY SINGLES ENCOUNTER

THE MATCH OF THE WEEK INVOLVED GARCÍA AND PHIL MICKELSON, WHO, BY THE TIME THEY TOOK TO THE 18TH TEE, HAD COLLECTIVELY PRODUCED 17 BIRDIES

whom only played two matches, also tasted nothing but defeat. The hero of Medinah, Kaymer, played in four matches, but lost three, only finally getting his putter out of first gear in his singles match against Matt Kuchar, by which time the cup had already been lost.

In the top half of the draw, Henrik Stenson’s professional 3&2 dismissal of an out of sorts Jordan Spieth was expected, but in vain. So, too, was the impressive win by Cabrera-Bello over the US PGA champion Jimmy Walker. In the red corner Rickie Fowler, Moore, Snedeker, Dustin Johnson, Koepka and Zach Johnson ensured the USA crashed rather than stumbled through the finishing tape.

A bright light on an otherwise largely gloomy European horizon was the performance of wildcard selection Pieters. The big-hitting young Belgian became the first rookie in European Ryder Cup history to deliver four points, three of them in tandem with McIlroy, and the final one arriving courtesy of a confident 3&2 win over Holmes. Hitting towering drives and accurate irons, he was one of the few European player with a hot putter. “I didn’t feel like a rookie,” said Pieters, with his trademark deadpan expression. He didn’t play like one either, and more than justified Clarke’s selection.

In reality, both captains have little to commend themselves for victory or blame themselves for defeat, despite the presence of task forces and winning blueprints. Europe was always the legitimate underdog against a superior US team, a matter most glaringly witnessed on Hazeltine’s super-quick greens, and while Love may have learned a few things following his defeat at Medinah, his team needed to do little more than play to their form to see off a European team that contained an awkward mix of inexperienced younger talent and older players who were in less assured form.

Clarke will no doubt be criticised in some quarters for his inclusion of Kaymer and Westwood, and one or two pairing decisions over the opening two days, but that’s water under the bridge. For now, America should celebrate a worthy victory that has been a long time in the coming. Paris, and 2018, cannot come quickly enough for either side, and for anyone who loves golf and all its glorious uncertainties.

[34] OCT/NOV 2016 | RORY MCILROY

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

H

ow important was if for you to win the FedExCup after the disappointments of the major season?

I made no secret of the fact that the FedExCup was one of the biggest things missing from my golfing CV, and I made it a big goal of mine – especially after the summer had gone – to win it. So to go ahead and do that, especially after the start I had to the final series, was very satisfying.

There's been quite a turnaround in your form since your missed cut in the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol. How have you achieved that?

I think you sometimes need weeks like that to kickstart a recovery. I've always fed off things like that in my career, from low points. I always feel like from a low point, you can work yourself back up, and you can really assess what you need to do. I think it was blatantly obvious what I needed to do after Baltusrol, in terms of trying to fix my putting, or to at least address some issues with it.

I started on a process to do that, and I didn't think results were going to come as quickly as they have done. I've played really, really well. I don't feel like I hit the ball much differently in Baltusrol than I have done since, so it just goes to show how small the margins are in this game.

The great thing about the FedExCup is that it gives you something to play for after the major season has finished. You have goals, you have ambition, you have drive to work hard for something else, and I really wanted to work hard to try to at least give myself a chance in these playoffs.

You obviously had a good chance to win the FedExCup in 2012 and 2014, but for one reason or another it didn’t happen. So, in a way, was it sweeter to come from off the pace to win it this time around?

Yeah, I think so. I came to the Tour Championship in sixth place, so it didn’t feel like it was in my hands – but at the same time it would have had to have been a little bit unlucky for me to win the Tour Championship and not win the FedExCup.

ROARING BACK Rory McIlroy reveals how he turned around his season with victory in the Tour Championship and FedExCup, and why he relished the role of bad guy at last month’s Ryder Cup

I don't know how many players have won both in the same year, but there have certainly been a few, which shows just how much emphasis is placed on winning the last tournament.

Where do you rank this in terms of your accomplishments?

It's right up there. For me to go out and shoot 66 and 64 on the weekend to win the Tour Championship and the FedExCup ranks up there alongside some of my best performances on a golf course, regardless of the tournament. I've won the Race to Dubai three times in Europe, so it’s nice to get the job done in America, too. It’s another tick on the checklist, if you like. I birdied the last four holes to beat Justin Rose to win the Race to Dubai in 2012, and I had a great battle with Andy Sullivan last year to win the Race to Dubai, but Ryan [Moore] battled hard all the way to the line – even his last putt in the play-off was incredible. He’s such a fighter.

■ MCILROY REACTS TO THE PUTT THAT WON THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE FEDEXCUP

There are easy ways to win golf tournaments, and there are hard ways.

You did it the hard way – does that make it feel extra special?

Yeah, it certainly feels like that. I guess it all started on the 16th hole, when I holed that wedge shot. I knew I needed to do something special, as I was three behind Kevin [Chappell] at that point, and two back from Ryan [Moore], so I needed to get something going. Fortunately, I holeda

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RORY MCILROY | OCT/NOV 2016

[35]

patient, stay focused, and get the job done, feels pretty good.

Clearly the recent change of putter has made a big difference to your game.

Can you explain how that’s helped you on the greens?

Coming off the PGA at Balustrol, I looked at my stats, and I saw I was dead last in putting, so obviously that was something I needed to address. I had a session on a SAM Putt lab soon after, and it was clear that the putter face and my swing path were going left, leading to a two-way miss. It was more to do with what my hands were doing. The left hand was leading, but it was going left and up. Switching to from a blade to a mallet has helped reduce head twisting and keep the face squarer at impact, so I don’t get that miss left, which was the bad putt I was getting.

With Nike getting out of the equipment business, you’re going to be free to play other equipment. Are you any closer to reaching a decision on what clubs you will be playing with going forward?

I might start tinkering a little bit in the of-season, and see what else is out there, but I don't really expect to sign with anyone next year. I’m pretty happy with the clubs I’ve got in bag right now. If I come across something that I really like and I'm really comfortable with, obviously I'll look, but I just want to stay with what I’m comfortable with for now. I’ve got enough Nike golf balls to see me through the next couple of years, so there’s no great time pressure to make a decision on that front either.

It was obviously hugely disappointing to lose the Ryder Cup, but what was your general reaction to the week, the way you played, and your role within the team?

I’ve never lost one before, and it hurts, it really hurts. We put up a great fight, and we gave it our all, but in the end it just wasn’t enough.

Personally, it was disappointing for me not to be able to go out there and put the first blue point on the board in the singles. Patrick [Reed] played phenomenal golf, and there wasn’t much I could really do about that, apart from trying to hang on to his coattails on the front nine. I didn't make any birdies on the back nine, which you can't do against a guy of that quality. I just ran out of steam at the end.

But overall, I think the result was good for golf, and good for the Ryder Cup going forward. It keeps it interesting going into France in a couple of years' time. It will certainly give us an extra incentive – not that we need any – to want to get it back on our home turf.

AT TIMES SOME OF THEM WENT A LITTLE BIT TOO FAR, AND CROSSED THE LINE OF WHAT’S ACCEPTABLE, BUT AS A WHOLE, THEY WERE VERY FAIR. IT WAS JUST A VERY SMALL MINORITY THAT RUINED IT FOR EVERYONE ELSE wedge shot, and I got myself in position to have a chance to win, and I birdied the last. I actually thought my bunker shot in regulation had a good chance of going in, but it didn't quite drop. So everything just sort of aligned for me, and I took advantage of that opportunity.

At what point in the final round did you know that Dustin Johnson was going backwards and you might have a chance to win both trophies?

I think it was just after I played the 13th. There aren’t many scoreboards around the turn, but I saw one on 13, which showed that Dustin had doubled 12. I said to JP, ’Okay, now we have a real chance, let's win this thing’. It was just a matter of trying to keep close enough to the leaders that I could do something special over the last few holes, which, thankfully, I was able to do.

How is that that you are so often able to produce your best golf when you’re under the most pressure?

Yeah, I think when I get myself in situations like this, over the last couple of years anyway, I seem to produce my best golf when I need it. I mean, when you have a 15-footer to win the Tour Championship, the FedExCup, and $11.5 million, there’s quite a bit of pressure on. So to be able to stay

You seemed to relish the role of kind of leading the team, and getting under the skin of the American fans.

There are a lot of leaders in the team – it isn't just me. There's a whole lot of guys that have more experience than me. I just wanted to go out there and lead by example and give off the right energy. Poults [Ian Poulter] wasn't playing this time, so we needed someone on the course to be doing what he does. I took it upon myself to take on that role. I tried my best at it. I learned from the best; I've played with Poults a few times before, and it's always fun – and hopefully he's back on the team in a couple of years in Paris, and we can do this all over again.

What was your feeling about how the US fans behaved?

At times some of them went a little bit too far, and crossed the line of what’s acceptable, but as a whole, they were very fair. It was just a very small minority that ruined it for everyone else. For the most part it was played for in a very respectful, but tough environment. I wouldn't expect anything less. The American players did all they could to calm the crowds, although at times some of them looked embarrassed by some of the comments that were coming out. When the Americans come over and play on our side, they find it difficult, as well. That's what you expect at the Ryder Cup, and that's what happened.

What was Darren Clarke like as a captain?

He was absolutely phenomenal. I cannot praise him enough for the job he's done. It's been absolutely incredible. He's been first class all the way through, involved everyone., you know, and the little details he got so right. I know he's put his heart and soul into this for 18 months. I wish we could have got the win for him, but he's been a fantastic captain regardless. I feel very proud to have played under him.

What positives are you able to take away from the experience?

There are plenty of positives to take. I mean, I've got a partner for the next 20 years in Thomas Pieters – I'm not letting anyone else have him. We’ve bloodied a few rookies, and we'll go to Paris with a more experienced squad and a squad that knows what it feels like.

We'll have a core of great players and great leadership again, and we’ll come back stronger.

[36] OCT/NOV 2016 | TOUR NEWS

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TOURNEWS...

TOUR NEWS IN BRIEF

FINCHEM BIDS FAREWELL TO PGA TOUR

MEXICO TO HOST WGC EVENT

Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City will host next year's World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. The tournament, which takes place from March 2-5, will mark the first time the event has been held outside Miami, after it was held at Trump Doral for 10 years.

P

GA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has stepped down from his role following a 22-year stint at the helm of golf’s richest tour.

The 67 year old was a controversial choice when he first took on the position in 1994, having had no background in golf, but he went on to oversee significant changes to the global golfing scene, launching the Presidents Cup in 1994, creating the World Golf Championships in 1996, and, most recently, instigating the FedExCup in 2007.

When Finchem started as commissioner, the PGA Tour’s total annual prize fund was $56 million, and the biggest winner's cheque was $540,000. Today's prize funds add up to $320 million, and the top prize is $1.89 million – not including the $10 million year-end bonus for winning the FedExCup.

Finchem was also responsible for expanding the PGA Tour beyond America's borders, buying the Canadian and Latin American tours, and creating the PGA Tour China Series. He was also the catalyst behind the First Tee programme, which introduces golf to youngsters across America.

He also played a significant role in expanding the commercial success of the Champions Tour – which changed its name from the US Senior Tour – and the Web.com Tour.

Finchem’s successor as PGA Tour commissioner will be his current deputy, Jay Monahan.

WOODS DELAYS COMEBACK AFTER DECLARING SWING ‘VULNERABLE’

F

ormer world number one Tiger Woods has delayed his longawaited comeback again, after claiming his game is still not in a position to be competitive.

The 14-time major champion has been out for more than a year with back problems, but was due to compete at this month's Safeway Open in California and next month's Turkish Airlines Open. The 40-year-old American is now planning a return in early December at his foundation's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

"My health is good and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be," Woods said. "I practiced the last

several days in California, but after a lot of hours, I knew I wasn't ready to compete against the best golfers in the world. I'm close and I won't stop until I get there."

Woods last competed in August 2015, since when he has twice had back surgery.

Now ranked 786th in the world, he said he had made his decision to abort his latest comeback after ‘a lot of soul-searching and honest reflection’.

A vice-captain for the United States Ryder Cup team, Woods missed the whole of the 201516 season through injury, and played in just 11 tournaments the previous season.

LEVY PIPS FISHER TO PORSCHE TITLE

A

lexander Levy became the youngest Frenchman to win three European Tour titles, after beating Surrey’s Ross Fisher on the second hole of a play-off at the Porsche European Open.

After both players had parred the 18th hole first time around, Levy clinched victory with a 30-foot putt at the second time of asking to end a weather-affected week at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach in dramatic fashion.

It was Levy’s first title since the 2014 Portugal Masters, which was reduced to 36 holes due to torrential rain.

“It’s unbelievable,” said 26-year-old Levy, whose victory took him up to 29th place in the Race to Dubai rankings. “It’s difficult to compare this victory with others, but I definitely feel very relieved, because it looked like I had lost my chance. It’s so good to have this winning feeling again after two years.”

J

Carnoustie during their careers. He finished on 11 under par for two rounds at Pebble Beach and one at Poppy Hills.

Broadhurst, who finished 37th in the US Senior Open in August, and 19th in last month’s Shaw Charity Classic, said: "Being in the frame at the British Senior Open certainly helped an awful lot with my nerves. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I felt fairly comfortable out there.”

MOLINARI MOTORS HOME AT MONZA

F

Riviera Country Club has been chosen as the preferred venue to host the golf tournament for the 2024 Olympics, should Los Angeles win the bid. The Alister MacKenzie-designed course held the US Open in 1948 and the US PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. The other four cities bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics are Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome. The winning city will be announced on September 17, 2017.

SNEDEKER FLIES THE FIELD IN FIJI

Brandt Snedeker won his first European Tour title in the Fiji International at Natadola Bay in Fiji. He finished nine shots clear of runner up Michael Hendry. The tournament was co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia.

SOLHEIM VICE ROLE FOR FIGUERAS-DOTTI

European Solheim Cup captain Annika Sörenstam has named former tour player Marta FiguerasDotti as a vice-captain for next year’s match at Des Moines in Iowa.

The 58-year-old Spaniard has been involved in seven previous Solheim Cups, twice as vice-captain.

Sorenstam has already announced Scotland’s Catriona Matthew as one of her other vice-captains.

RORY'S FOUNDATION DONATION

BROADHURST BAGS CHAMPIONS TOUR TITLE ust three months after winning the Senior British Open at Carnoustie, England’s Paul Broadhurst bagged his first victory on Champions Tour in America at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

The 51-year-old former Ryder Cup player from the West Midlands wasted no time in cashing in on his recently acquired two-year exemption on the US over-50’s circuit, beating Bernhard Langer and Kevin Sutherland by a single shot to secure his first title in America, and a first prize of $300,000.

Broadhurst birdied the iconic par-five closing hole to take the title, which also saw him join Ben Hogan and Tom Watson as the only players to win at both Pebble Beach and

RIVIERA REVS UP FOR OLYMPIC BID

rancesco Molinari won his first European Tour title in over four years when he clinched a dramatic one-shot victory over Danny Willett at the rain-effected Italian Open at Milan Golf Club.

Willett birdied the 13th and eagled the next to close to within a shot of the leader, but the Masters’ champion was unable to better par over the last four holes, as Molinari produced a stunning save on the 72nd.

The 33 year old blocked his final drive into the trees on the right hand side, but managed to carve a superb long iron onto the front of the green, before rolling in a four-foot putt to card a closing 65, and a four-round total of 22 under par – a new low scoring record for the tournament.

MONTY BACK TO WINNING WAYS AT BEAR MOUNTAIN

A charity set up by Rory McIlroy has raised €950,000 for children’s charities following fund-raising efforts during the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. Barretstown, the Jack and Jill Foundation and LauraLynn Children's Hospice all benefited from fundraising by the Rory Foundation at the tournament, which was held at the K Club in May. McIlroy, who won the tournament by three shots, donated his entire prize money of €666,000.

C

MUÑOZ WINS SPANISH OPEN

olin Montgomerie won his first regular PGA Tour Champions event after winning a play-off against America’s Scott McCarron at the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in British Colombia, Canada.

The 53-year-old Scot shot a closing 67 to match McCarron’s 15-under par total, and then birdied the third play-off to take the title.

All of his previous victories on the US over-50s circuit had come at Major championships – the 2014 and 2015 Senior PGA Championship and 2014 US Senior Open.

Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a courserecord 61 to tie for third at 13 under. The Spanish star played the first five holes of the back nine in six under par with an eagle and five birdies, but finished with four pars to miss out on breaking 60.

Spain’s Azahara Muñoz became the first home winner of the Women’s Spanish Open after finishing on 10 under par at Aloha Golf Club in Marbella. The 28 year old fired rounds of 72, 66, 70 and 70 to finish one stroke clear of America’s Beth Allen. England’s Sophie Walker eagled the final hole to take a share of third place with Georgia Hall.

EDFROS TO THE FORE IN ROME

Johan Edfors won the Challenge Tour’s Terre dei Consoli Open after shooting a 13-under-par total in Rome. The 40-year-old Swede won three times on the European Tour, including the 2006 British Masters at The Belfry, but lost his card in 2014.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

CUSTOM FIT | OCT/NOV 2016

[37]

FIT FOR PURPOSE

GolfNews staff members Nick Bayly and Richard Maunder check into Cleveland Golf’s Centre of Excellence at Studley Wood Golf Club in Oxfordshire to be fitted for the new RTX 3.0 wedges

THE FITTER:

PIERRE GIRADEL, PGA HEAD PROFESSIONAL AT SRIXON AND CLEVELAND GOLF’S PERFORMANCE CENTRE AT STUDLEY WOOD GOLF CLUB, OXFORD

NICK BAYLY

RICHARD MAUNDER

HANDICAP: 14 CURRENT WEDGE SET UP (LOFT/BOUNCE): 52° (10), 56° (14), 60° (12) SWING SPEED: 75MPH

HANDICAP: 1 CURRENT WEDGE SET UP (LOFT/BOUNCE): 54° (10), 60° (12) SWING SPEED: 85MPH

PIERRE SAYS: Nick’s gapping with his current wedges was ok, although with his pitching wedge in his set of irons having a loft of 46°, there is an argument for starting the gap wedge at 50°, and having four-degree gaps to a 54° and 58°. However, he was happy with the current set up, so we kept it as it was.

After hitting a few shots using marker tape and the strike board, it was clear that the standard lie angle was too flat for Nick, as everything was drifting right. To overcome this we made the new wedges, Cleveland’s new RTX 3.0, two degrees upright, which immediately straightened out his flight path.

Nick has a tendency to place the ball too far forward in his stance, which leads to a few thinned shots, so as well as getting him to move the ball more towards the centre, we opted for a lower bounce angle on all three wedges, down to 8° in the 52° and 56°, and down to 6° in his 60° lob wedge. This makes the front of the clubface sit lower to the ground to help nip the ball off the turf. Due to his angle of attack, Nick doesn’t take a divot with his wedges, so he’s not in any danger of digging in with a lower bounce sole, and it helped with his ball striking, making more solid contact.

Given his relatively low clubhead speed, and to help him generate more spin around the greens, we switched in a lightweight Spinner shaft, which has more flex points throughout the length. It produced an extra 500rpm of spin - from 7,600 to 8,100rpm which will help him get more backspin and distance control, with less roll and more carry.

Nick is tall – over 6ft 3 inches – so a shaft that is a full inch longer than standard was recommended.

NICK SAYS: My current set of wedges, the CG15s, are coming up to five years old, so the grooves are significantly worn down and certainly not generating anywhere near the levels of spin that they did when new, so I knew it was time for an upgrade. They were also custom fitted for me, so I knew that the gapping was ok, but was interested to see how Cleveland’s wedge design had changed in the last few years, as the 3.0 wedges looked significantly different than earlier models, with a much squarer leasing edge, and a new groove milling process. Once I’d got my ball position sorted out – I find that fitting sessions often involve a mini lesson when something blindingly obvious is hampering your game – I was really impressed with the feel off the face, and the amount of spin I was able to generate, especially on what were quite delicate shots around the green, while full shots from the bunker also came to a pretty aprupt stop when I caught them cleanly. The lower sole bounce is a new one for me, but seems to make perfect sense given my strike pattern. Overall, I really liked the look of the RTX 3.0s, which have a much sharper look than previous Cleveland designs, and give you the confidence that you’re going to make a clean, precise contact. I’m now looking forward to taking them out into a proper golf course setting to see how they stand up in the white heat of competition.

PIERRE SAYS: It was a surprise to see a player of Richard’s skill level carrying just two wedges, a 54° and a 60°, but he currently carries a 2-, 3- and 4-iron, so he has to give up something in the bottom end of the bag. This leaves him with lots of yardage gaps in his wedges, and often requires him to fashion three-quarter shots, or hit it harder, in order to find the target.

While he’s no doubt pretty good at manipulating his lofts and swing length, it makes life unnecessarily difficult, given the number of short irons he must play into tight pins, so it would make more sense for Richard to carry at least one more wedge to allow him to play fuller shots with all his clubs.

With his current pitching wedge set at 46°, which he hits between 125-135 yards, Richard could look at a 50°, 54°, 58° set up, or a more conventional 52°, 56°, 60°. After hitting all three of the latter configuration on the range, he quickly dialled in his distances with clear 10-yard gaps, with the 52° carrying just over 120 yards, the 56° averaging 110, and the 60 carrying between 90-95 yards. This is ideal gapping.

A quick assessment on the strike board revealed that the sole was hitting the board towards the toe area, causing Richard’s shots to pull slightly left, so we flattened out the lie angle by 2° in the 52° and 56° models, and by 1° in the 60°, which had the desired effect of straightening out his ball flight. For consistency, we decided on a bounce angle of 10° in all of his the wedges, which is a mid-bounce for all-round versatility across a wide range of playing surfaces, as Richard plays a wide variety of courses during the year. The mid bounce also produced a consistent shallow divot, which didn’t dig in or prevent the clubhead moving through the turf cleanly.

After measuring Richard’s hand size, we added three layers of tape to his grips, which will help the clubs feel more comfortable and aid control, while his preferred shaft option was a KBS Hi Rev 125, which gives the consistency and control that he needs.

RICHARD SAYS: I was well aware of the gaps in my current wedge set up, having personally chosen to focus on the distance end of my bag. However, the Trackman data highlighted a 20-yard discrepancy between my current wedges, which showed the need to close these gaps more efficiently, without the need to manipulate shots with my current clubs. I was impressed to learn that Cleveland offer so many variations, with a choice of 10 lofts, along with three bounce options. I found the RTX 3.0 blade felt soft off the face, offering plenty of feedback, which is extremely important to my game. The combination of the milled Rotex face and the Tour Zip Grooves increased spin rates on all shots, while also reducing my dispersion rate. The versatility of the head shape impressed me, allowing a variation of shots to be played from sand. I could open the face with confidence, without the need to increase bounce, which could have impacted the variety of other options around the green. I’m looking forward to putting them in play.

SUGGESTED SET UP: Cleveland RTX 3.0 in 52° (8), 56° (8), 60° (6), with black satin finish, Dynamic Gold Spinner shaft (regular flex, 1-inch longer than standard), and Tour Velvet Round grips (mid size).

SUGGESTED SET UP: Cleveland RTX 3.0 – 52° (10), 56° (10), 60° (10) with black satin finish, KBS Hi Rev 125 shafts, and Lamkin grips (3 layers of tape).

DISTANCES: PW: 115-120yds 52°: 100-105yds 56°: 90-95yds 60°: 80-85yds

DISTANCES: PW: 130yds 52°: 122yds 56°: 110yds 60°: 95yds

CLEVELAND RTX 3 WEDGE

Cleveland’s RTX 3 wedge range is available in either a blade or cavity back design, each boasting three different sole grind options and lofts ranging 47 to 60, which adds up to 34 loft-bound configurations.

The sole grinds – V-LG, V-MG and V-FG – are marked by one, two and three blue dots.

The LG is a low bounce sole for maximum versatility, the MG has a mid-bounce suitable for a wide range of players and turf conditions, and the FG is a forgiving full sole design with trailing edge relief.

The faces feature deeper, narrower Tour Zip Grooves and a new micro-milling pattern, which increases spin and distance control.

They are available in Tour Satin and Black Satin finishes, with True Temper Dynamic Gold steel (wedge flex) and Cleveland Blue Cap grips by Lamkin. £99, clevelandgolf.com

To book a custom-fitting session at the Srixon Cleveland Golf Centre of Excellence call 01865 351144. If you would like to learn more about Cleveland Golf and Srixon products, head to www.clevelandgolf.com or www.srixon.co.uk.

[38] OCT/NOV | EQUIPMENT NEWS

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DAY SIGNS NIKE CLOTHING DEAL

THE GEAR EFFECT

WORLD NO.1 JASON DAY has signed a contract with Nike Golf to wear its shoes and clothing next season.

The deal, which is reported to be worth more than $10 million a year, will see the 28-yearold Australian decked out head to toe in Nike gear, although he will still be using TaylorMade golf equipment.

Day’s 10-year contract with TaylorMade and Adidas is up at the end of the year, but he re-signed in order to continue using TaylorMade equipment.

He currently uses Taylormade through the bag, including an M1 driver, M2 3-wood, RSi irons, Tour Preferred wedges, a limited edition red Spider putter, and the brand’s Tour Preferred golf ball.

Adidas is currently trying to sell TaylorMade, although a buyer has yet to be announced, and with Nike Golf no longer making golf equipment, it freed Day up to look for a new clothing and shoe sponsor. Day wore Nike clothing and played with its clubs before he signed with TaylorMade in 2006.

Inside The Bags Of Winners On Tour RORY MCILROY TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (9.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike Vapor Speed (15, 19) IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blades (3-PW) WEDGES: Nike Engage (56, 58 degrees) PUTTER: Scotty Cameron by Titleist M1 BALL: Nike RZN Tour Platinum

ALEX LEVY PORSCHE EUROPEAN OPEN DRIVER: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (9.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike Vapor Speed (15, 19) IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blades (3-PW) WEDGES: Nike Engage (56, 58 degrees) PUTTER: Scotty Cameron by Titleist M1 BALL: Nike RZN Tour Platinum

IN GEE CHUN EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER: Ping G LS Tec (9) 3 WOOD: Ping G Stretch (13) HYBRIDS: Ping G (17, 22) IRONS: Ping i (5-PW) WEDGES: Edel DVR Grind (50, 54, 58) PUTTER: Scottsdale TR Anser 2 BALL: Srixon Z Star

RYAN MOORE RYDER CUP DRIVER: PXG 0811 (9) FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway XR (16, 18) HYBRID: PXG 0317 (19, 22)

HACKETT HITS THE GOLF MARKET

IRONS: PXG 0311T (5-PW) WEDGES: PXG 0311T (54, 60) PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot RX V-Line Fang BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

PATRICK REED RYDER CUP DRIVER: Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 DBD (9) FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway XR 16 Pro (18) IRONS: PXG 0311 (3), Callaway X Forged (4), Callaway MB1 (5-PW) WEDGES: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (52, 56) Titleist Vokey SM6 (61) PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot RX #2

BRANDT SNEDEKER FIJI INTERNATIONAL DRIVER: Bridgestone JGR (9.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway X Hot (15), Tour Stage X-FW (18) IRONS: Bridgestone J15CB (4-PW) WEDGES: Bridgestone J15 (52, 56), Titleist Vokey TVD (60) PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG BALL: Bridgestone B330

TYRRELL HATTON DUNHILL LINKS DRIVER: Ping G (9.5) FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade M2 (15) IRONS: Ping i (3-PW) WEDGES: Titleist Vokey SM6 (50, 54, 60) PUTTER: Ping Vault Oslo BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

HIGH STREET FASHION brand Hackett is to launch into the golf market for the first time next year, following the signing of a licensing agreement with Essex-based golf apparel specialist New Venture Active.

Under a 10-year deal, NVA will design, manufacture and distribute Hackett

Golf across the world from its head offices in Basildon.

Hackett already has successful partnerships across various sports, including with Aston Martin Racing, Williams Martini Racing, British Polo, and the London Rowing Club, and golf is seen as the next natural progression

for the brand. The products in its first Hackett Golf collection are designed to suit the needs of the ‘Gentleman Golfer’.

NVA Managing Director Jon Camp said he was delighted to be involved with introducing Hackett to the golf market. “This is one of the most exciting projects that I have been involved in during my career in the golf industry,” he said. “Hackett is such an classic British brand. Working with them to create golf products that reflect its identity has been a pleasure. All designs have been created using luxury yarns and are complemented with detailed finishes, and I am confident that the industry, and, more importantly, golfers, will be impressed with the quality and the style it delivers.”

The range consists of traditional golfing classics, including polos, jumpers, outerwear and accessories.

The first collection will be available for spring/summer 2017.

POWAKADDY SET TO ROLL OUT GPS TROLLEY LEADING POWER TROLLEY BRAND PowaKaddy is set to give the market a bit of a shake up next year when it launches the first electric trolley with built-in GPS technology.

The Kent-based company will introduce the GPS model as part of its 2017 line-up. It will feature a ‘super-intelligent digital screen’ which will provide golfers with distance measurements to pin positions and hazards. It will also feature Powakaddy’s

wireless Plug’n’Play battery system, while it will also boasts an re-engineered lithium-ion battery, which will offer up to 20 per cent more staying power.

“We’re really excited about what the integrated GPS technology will offer golfers in 2017, but we can’t reveal too much about the new model just yet, other than the fact the trolley has all the features of the award-

BADDELEY BECOMES PING MAN FOUR-TIME PGA TOUR WINNER AARON BADDELEY has signed an agreement to play Ping equipment.

The 35-year-old Australian, whose most recent victory came in July with a Ping G LS Tec driver and G 3-wood in the bag, played his first event as a Ping pro at the PGA Tour’s opening event for the 2016-2017 season, the Safeway Open.

Baddeley had five top 10’s in the 2015-16 season, and has amassed 43 top 10’s since turning professional in 2000. He has earned more than $19 million in prize money.

“Aaron has shown a great deal of talent over the years, he has a positive attitude, and he has a home in Scottsdale so we’ve gotten a chance to know him

winning Freeway range and a fully integrated high-performance GPS,” said PowaKaddy chief executive David Catford. “A serious amount of time, effort and investment has gone into the production of this trolley to make sure it performs to the very highest standards.

Golfers will be able to manage their game from their trolley handle – a landmark moment for the electric trolley industry.”

TPT’S NEW SPINELESS GRAPHITE SHAFTS PROMISE ‘CONSISTENCY AND DISTANCE’ GOLFERS LOOKING for the very best performing graphite shafts in their next set of clubs should try a new range that has just been launched by TPT Golf.

The TPT Blue 15, 16, 17 and 18 Series employ a manufacturing process that enables them to be made with uniquely accurate fibre placement for increased consistency.

The patent-pending process allows the shafts to be highly uniform and without a spine, unlike traditional shafts, and offer ‘exceptional feel, accurate shot dispersion, low spin and distance’.

Biomechanical specialist JeanJacques Rivet has been influential in the development of a custom shaft fitting process known as ‘Unique to Me’, which will allow TPT Golf to offer fully-customised shafts to

a wide range of golfers, from Tour players to amateurs.

Leading coach David Leadbetter has also been involved in providing strong technical support during the development of the range. He has now entered in to a partnership with TPT Golf to establish a shaftfitting network linked to David Leadbetter Academies around the world.

Leadbetter commented: “In a sport where feel is everything, TPT shafts offer a level of feel to golfers that is unique. This is the most technically-advanced golf shaft for distance and direction, and even makes your bad shots better.”

Next year, TPT Golf is launching a new range of lightweight shafts designed to suit juniors, seniors and women.

For more information, visit www.tptgolf.com.

and his family,” said Ping chairman John Solheim.

“He has played Ping equipment at times in his career, so he feels like a natural fit for our brand on and off the course. He’s had a star quality since his successful amateur days, and we’re excited to be associated with Aaron.”

As part of a multi-year agreement, Baddeley will wear a Ping hat, carry a staff bag and play a minimum of 11 Ping clubs, including a driver and putter. At the Safeway Open, he put the company’s iBlade irons into the bag for the first time, along with a Ping prototype putter.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

MOVE TO THE GROOVE The latest performance wedges promise customised spin and flight control

CLEVELAND RTX 3

TAYLORMADE TP EF

The RTX-3 boasts improved consistency and control over its predecessor, the RTX 2.0, courtesy of a shift in the clubhead’s centre of gravity, which has been moved from an area nearer the heel to a new position more in line with the centre of the face. This has been achieved by shaving 9g off the weight of the hosel, which has been thinned and shortened. The range includes blade and cavity back models and a full complement of 34 loft and bounce combinations with three sole grinds. A new Rotex Face features deeper, narrower grooves and a new face pattern, both of which increase friction. Choose from satin, black satin or raw finishes.

The EF wedge sees the introduction of a nickel cobalt face insert that has been electroformed to ensure consistent and precise groove geometry. Although the insert is just 0.25 mm thick, nickel cobalt is 50% harder than carbon steel, making it incredibly durable, yet it retains soft feel. It is available in two sole grind options – Tour and ATV. The Tour features progressive camber and generous heel relief, while the ATV promotes less bounce on chip and full shots, while maintaining higher bounce on open-face shots. It is available with in seven lofts (47°-60°) for the Tour grind, and four lofts (54°, 56°, 58°, 60°) in the ATV grind.

PING GLIDE

WILSON STAFF FG TOUR PMP

COBRA KING

The Glide wedge is offered in four sole designs — standard, wide, thin, and a new ‘Eye Sole’ option to cater for even more shot versatility around the greens, and offer 16 loft/sole combinations.

The ES (56, 58, 60) features a scooped sole for added versatility on full and partial shots, especially bunkers, while the hosel tapers into the face to reduce drag through the sand. Its high toe also offers a larger hitting area when the face is opened up. All for models feature progrressive Gorge grooves for improved performance on full, chip and pitch shots. Each wedge is chrome-plated with stainless steel, which beads water off the face to improve contact in wet conditions.

Available in an eye-catching blue PVD finish or a more traditional frosted chrome, Wilson’s Precision Milled Performance wedges feature a combination of maximum volume grooves that give spin control of full shots, and laser-etched micro spin lines for increased spin on half shots and chips. The range offers three sole designs – Traditional, Tour Grind and Wide – which, in combination with numerous loft, lie and bounce options, adds up to 95 different set-up options. They are fitted with a KBS HiRev 2.0 wedge shaft that features an active tip section to give a higher ball flight.

Offering more configurations that any previous Cobra wedge , the new King wedges boast a new muscle shape, progressive grooves, variable face roughness, and three different sole grinds. The face features wider grooves and gapping on higher lofted wedges for increased spin, while the lower-lofted models feature narrower spin for added flight control. Three sole grinds - Versatile (medium bounce), Classic (high bounce) and WideLow (low bounce) – which enable golfers to choose a wedge to match their game and turf conditions. A new satin nickel chrome plating finish prevents glare.

MIZUNO T7

TITLEIST VOKEY DESIGN SM6

CALLAWAY MACK DADDY 3

The T7s are the first Mizuno forged wedges to be infused with boron. While the nature of soft forgings mean that the grooves deteriorate more quickly than those made from harder cast steel, the addition of boron adds an extra element of durability that enables them to create spin for longer. Spin is further enhanced by loft-specific Quad Cut grooves, which are wider and shallower in the higher lofts and deeper and narrower in the lower lofts. The leading edges are also loft specific, with the PW featuring a straighter leading edge and topline for fuller shots, graduating into a more rounded profile in the highest lofts. They come in a white satin or blue IP finish.

Bob Vokey’s latest creations feature a progressive centre of gravity design that corresponds with the ideal impact area of each loft. Thus the low-lofted models have a low centre of gravity, thinner topline and raised area in the lower portion of the clubhead, which increases ball speed and distance and feature. The mid-lofts have a mid CG location for improved distance gapping, while the high lofts have a high CG for improved trajectory control. Other features include new a new parallel groove pattern that improves spin consistency, while there are also five sole grinds (L, M, S, F, K). They are available in chrome, steel grey, or jet black (raw) finishes.

All MD3 wedges feature a milled three-groove design, which optimises spin as the loft increases. The 30V grooves in the pitching and gap wedges are built for shots that require a steep angle into the ball, while the 20V grooves in the sand wedges are designed for full shots and bunker shots, while the wider 5V grooves in the lob wedges for better control for shots out of the rough and around the green. Featuring a high toe profile and a semi-straight leading edge, each wedge boasts weight ports in the rear of the club for better shot-making control. They are available in a choice of three grinds. Choose from satin chrome or matt black finishes.

£99, CLEVELANDGOLF.COM

£110, PING.COM

£120, GOLF.MIZUNOEUROPE.COM

£99, TAYLORMADEGOLF.COM

£79, WILSONSTAFF.COM

£140, TITLEIST.CO.UK

£89, COBRAGOLF.CO.UK

£109, CALLAWAYGOLF.COM

[40] OCT/NOV 2016 | PRO SHOP

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

MIZUNO PRO RAIN JACKET £179, GOLF.MIZUNOEUROPE.COM Tailored from a three-way stretch fabric, Mizuno’s Pro rain jacket features a temperature adaptive membrane that actively adjusts heat retention to allow comfortable use even in warmer conditions. A ‘wipe dry’ water-repelling outer fabric provides exceptional waterproofing and breathability, while Mizuno’s Dynamotion Fit ensures total freedom of movement during the phases of the swing. It has a full zip fastener to the front with storm flap, two front pockets, and adjustable fasteners to the cuffs. It is available in black and blue/white in S-XXL sizes. Matching trousers are available in black only.

CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA OS IRONS £849 (S) £ 1099 (G), CALLAWAYGOLF.COM

PRO SHOP

GEAR

GUIDE

Fitting squarely into the super game improvement category, Callaway’s latest iteration of the iconic Big Bertha iron promises to deliver more of the high levels of forgiveness that have been a central feature of the Big Bertha range since it first launched back in 1994.

The key component in this re-designed, over-sized model is a new Exo-Cage frame built around a hollow body with a new 360 Face Cup, which makes the clubface react more like a driver or metal wood than a traditional iron at impact.

The lightweight Exo-Cage is offset by a heavy tungsten weight in the sole, which causes the head to twist less on off-centre hits, helping to maintain ball speeds and launch it higher and straighter.

As you’d expect from such clubs, the soles are wide, blade lengths are long, toplines are thick, and offset is extremely generous. As a bonus, there are also senior and women’s versions, both of which feature added loft to help players get the ball airborne more quickly and easily.

They are available in 4-PW, AW, SW, with True Temper Speed Step 80 steel shafts or UST Recoil ES 460 graphite shafts.

GOLFBUDDY VOICE2 £114, GPSGOLFBUDDY.EU GolfBuddy’s latest audio GPS unit can be worn either as a watch, or clipped onto a hat, golf bag or pocket. Ready to use straight out of the box, it comes preloaded with yardages on over 38,000 courses worldwide. Distances are shown in large numbers to the front, middle and back of greens from the golfer's angle of approach, while yardages are provided both visually and audibly at the touch of a button. It boasts auto course and hole recognition, so there is no need to faff about if you start on a different hole; while it also allows shot distances to be measured. The battery promises up to 14 hours’ use on a single charge, and the unit is available in rose gold/white or white/blue.

CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA OS HYBRID £229, CALLAWAYGOLF.COM

ADIDAS CLIMAHEAT PRIME-FILL JACKET £84.99, ADIDASGOLF.COM Designed to lock in heat, the lightweight Climaheat jacket features bonded quilting on the front and back panels, which are filled with a synthetic insulation that maximises warmth without restricting the swing. Detailing includes two heatsealed front zippered pockets, full front zip, and elastic closures on the cuffs and bottom hem to ensure a comfortable fit. It is available in black, black/red and grey/black, in sizes XS to XXL.

Designed to be used as individual long iron replacements or as part of a combination set for Callaway’s Big Bertha OS irons, the OS hybrids, feature a deeper body, a larger and faster face, an updated cupface, and a speed step crown, which combines to deliver higher launch and longer distance.

A dual runner sole design enhances turf interaction, while the addition of an OptiFit hosel provides eight loft/lie settings to help players dial in their ball flight preferences.

They are fitted with a UST Recoil ES 460 shaft as standard in lofts 3H (19°), 4H (22°), 5H (25°), 6H (28°), 7H (31°).

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

PRO SHOP | OCT/NOV 2016

[41]

COBRA KING OVERSIZE IRONS £699/£799 (ST/GR, 5-SW), COBRAGOLF.CO.UK It’s all getting a bit retro in the irons market these days, with a number of the big brands harking back to the glory days of the ‘90s, when par fives were under 600 yards, it was acceptable for young people to wear cardigans, and Wet, Wet, Wet topped the charts for 15 insufferable weeks with ‘Love is All Around’.

It was also a time when irons were massive, with Cobra’s topselling Oversized model being a fine example of the category when they hit the shelves with a thud in 1994.

Thankfully these are not just a reintroduction of a classic, but a reinvention with a twist, with plenty of new material and design advancements brought to bear in this new incarnation.

A hollow body design throughout the entire set provides higher launch angles for longer carry distance and softer landings, while a milled clubface and multiple groove designs – the 4-6 irons have V-grooves, while the 7-PW have U-grooves – keeps spin rates in check for more control and consistency.

The shape of a golf ball – i.e. round – has helpfully been etched into the face to help set up at address, although surely even the most novice of golfers will already have a good idea that the centre bit is the section to aim for.

The face itself is considerably thinner, lighter and more flexible than the 1994 version, with the weight saved in this area re-positioned by a high-density tungsten weight low in the toe, which increases MOI and helps square the clubhead at impact.

They are available with Lamkin Ace Crossline grips, and a choice of UST Recoil 460 ES graphite shafts or True Temper XP85 steel shafts, although there’s no need to rush to the shops just yet, as they don’t go on sale until January.

WILSON STAFF FG TOUR V6 IRONS £699, WILSONSTAFF.COM Wilson’s FG Tour range, which first launched in 2012 with the V2, has always been designed for the precision ball striker who also like a bit of forgiveness, and that’s a theme that continues with the brand’s new V6 irons, which are already safely tucked away in the golf bags of tour pros Kevin Streelman and Marcel Siem.

Replacing the FG Tour V4s, the latest model has the feel of a muscleback in a cavity design, and features Wilson’s ‘Feel, Crossover and Distance’ system. They are made from soft carbon steel, and feature split tungsten weighting for added distance, versatility and a mid-to-high ball flight.

Weighting in the long irons (3, 4 and 5) is split across 12g in the toe and 8g in the heel to increase MOI and launch angle, without increasing spin. A 38g weight is placed in the centre of the impact area of the mid irons (6, 7 and 8) to lower the centre of gravity and increase forgiveness on off-centre hits.

This creates a muscleback-like feel in a cavity design.

They are available 4-PW, with True Temper Dynamic Gold Ascending Mass Technology steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline black grips.

PING ZERO GRAVITY JACKET £150, PINGCOLLECTION.CO.UK A key piece in Ping’s Sensor Dry range, the Zero Gravity jacket is made from ultra-lightweight Pertex Shield+ 2.5 layer fabric, and is designed to offer plenty of stretch and breathability.

Fully seam-sealed throughout, it also of boasts high levels of waterproof protection (20,000mm). Weighing just over 250g, it is perfect for rolling up in your golf bag and using in light showers or heavy rain. Available in sizes S-XXXL, it comes in black or white (mineral) colour options.

MIZUNO JPX-900 £TBC, GOLF.MIZUNOEUROPE.COM Although an iconic iron brand for many decades, Mizuno has, for various reasons, not been quite so successful in other club categories, especially in metal woods, but it is hoping to turn that around with the launch of its new JPX 900 woods and hybrid range, at which is it has thrown all of its R&D acumen to create clubs that improve ball speed and forgiveness, and add more adjustability options.

Helping achieve that in the JPX-900 driver is a new variable face thickness design that is 5g lighter than the previous JPX-850, expanding the spring-like qualities of the face to mitigate off-centre hits. A centre track with a pair of 8g adjustable weights allows players to precisely dial in spin and launch, while moving the weights to the ports on the toe and heel can alter trajectory. The adjustable hosel provides the opportunity to move loft plus or minus two degrees.

Another addition is a lightweight aluminum chip on the sole that allows players to manipulate the face angle without changing the loft.

There is a matching set of adjustable fairway woods (15, 18, 21), which dispense with the heel/toe weights, but retain the front-to-back track to alter launch conditions and take off up to 700rpm of spin; while the steel-faced hybrids (16, 19, 22, 25) are also adjustable, and feature a shockwave sole that delivers higher ball speeds with lower spin.

tried + tested SHOT SCOPE

£225, SHOTSCOPE.COM Golf these days, certainly for top players, is all about data capture. Every element of their game is measured to within microseconds and millimetres, and no stone is left unturned in the search for improved performance, whether it be through custom-fitted equipment, improved fitness and diet, or more efficient swing mechanics. At the competitive level, golf is ultimately all about the number you put on the scorecard, and monitoring the performance that helps you get those numbers is a big growth market.

And this is where Shot Scope comes in. Founded by Edinburgh-based engineer David Hunter, Shot Scope is a wristband device that monitor trends in a golfer’s game and identifies strengths and weaknesses. Comprised of a smartwatch-style wristband and a set of 20 tags that are attached to the butt end of the grip to detect which club is in use. Each tag weighs only 1.2g and has no impact on swingweight or clubhead speed. Accuracy is ensured with integrated GPS tracking that pinpoints the exact location of each shot. The technology allows for uninterrupted play, working in the background to constantly collect data without the need for stopping play for fiddly manual input. And once you've reached the green, the wristband allows players to record the exact position of the pin to improve the accuracy of approach play.

Once you’ve finished your round, data is then uploaded to a computer or smartphone, via bluetooth or USB connections, where it can be viewed instantly. It maps all of the shots taken onto an aerial view of the course, and statistics are displayed in charts, graphs and tables, with details including club choices and their impact; more information of tee shot performance; deeper understanding of approaches; development of in-depth knowledge of the short game; and an insight into scope for improvement within putting performance.

Conforming to the Rules of Golf and can therefore be used in competitive play, it’s a user-friendly tool, which provides a level of data analysis that was once only available to the elite.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

[42] OCT/NOV 2016 | RAINSUITS

SWINGING IN THE RAIN There’s no such thing as bad golfing weather, just wrong clothing.

GALVIN GREEN ADDISON

FOOTJOY DRYJOYS SELECT

NIKE HYPERADAPT

A half-zip jacket constructed from 2 layer Gore-Tex stretch fabric, which maximizes freedom of movement, while a polyester mesh lining boosts breathability. Features include adjustable velcro chest and cuff tabs, drawstring hem. Colours: black/grey/ white, blue/black/white, plum/white, red/black/white

Employing Xtreme DWR Finish for extreme waterproof protection, the DryJoys Select also boasts a high moisture permeability rating. Features include a waterproof zipper and a storm collar which stops rain creeping in around the neck.

Colour: black

Offered with a lifetime waterproof guarantee, Nike has added a new four-way stretch component to the material around the shoulders and arms which eliminates swing restrictions, while mesh sleeve panels create airflow for added breathability.

Colours: black, dark blue, light blue

ADIDAS GOLF GORE-TEX PACLITE

PING SENSOR DRY FRONTIER

OSCAR JACOBSON HARTMANN

Designed to be small on space, but big on protection, the twolayer Paclite features a Gore-Tex lining and Climaproof outer for ultimate in lightweight waterproofing. Stretchy and breathable it features a full-length zipper with chin guard and adjustable cuffs.

Colours: blue, lead, grey, white

Available as a full or half-zip jacket, the Frontier is part of the is made from a high performance three-layer stretch fabric for easy swinging in all conditions. Fully seam-sealed, it combines superior waterproof protection with built-in breathability.

Colours: black, silver, urban

Made from a two-layer, four-way stretch fabric, the Hartmann is waterproof, windproof and breathable. With fully taped seams and waterproof zippers, it also has a soft inner for added warmth.

Other features include a zip chest and two front pockets.

Colours: navy, black

SUNICE ALBANY

SUNDERLAND PERFORMANCE

UNDER ARMOUR STORM GORE-TEX PACLITE

The Albany comes with a Gore-Tex lifetime waterproof guarantee, and is breathable, windproof, ultra lightweight and seam sealed. Features include a raised chin collar, two-way zip, and two pockets, and an internal chamois ball cleaner.

Colours: black, dark blue, light blue

This lightweight jacket is made from a laminated fabric with contrast four-way stretch panels. An inner mesh lining combines with hand-warming pockets and a chin guard, while a groove cleaning tool attached to the bungee pocket cord.

Colours: berry/black, black/electric blue

Featuring Gore-Tex technology to repel water without sacrificing breathability, the UA Storm jacket is made from a 2.5-layer bonded fabric with a durable, smooth exterior and brushed interior, while gusseted shoulder sections allow for unrestricted swinging. Colours: black, blue

£259.95, GALVINGREEN.COM

£199.95, ADIDAS.CO.UKU

£220, SUNICE.COM

£295 (JACKET) £200 (TROUSERS), FOOTJOY.CO.UK

£150, PINGCOLLECTION.CO.UK

£119.95, GLENMUIR.COM

£210, NIKE.COM

£170, OSCARJACOBSON.COM

£240, UNDERARMOUR.CO.UK

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL & BREAKS | OCT/NOV 2016 [43]

TRAVEL & BREAKS YOUR GUIDE TO GOLFING TRIPS AT HOME AND ABROAD

■ HAZELTINE NATIONAL GOLF CLUB, MINNESOTA

■

SPECIAL FEATURE ON GOLF IN MINNESOTA

■

GOLF NEWS PLAYS THE NEXT RYDER CUP VENUE

■

ME AND MY TRAVELS WITH DARREN GOUGH

■

SARAH STIRK PICKS HER TOP NEW COURSES

[44] OCT/NOV 2016 | TRAVEL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

■ LEGEND AT GIANTS RIDGE GC

■ GRAND VIEW PINES GOLF COURSE

■ STONEBROOKE GOLF CLUB

TRAVEL REVIEW MINNESOTA

MAGICAL

MINNESOTA If the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National has tickled your interest in golf in Minnesota, then there’s no better time to head over to the North Star State, where a selection of stunning courses and all-American hospitality awaits

W

hile some members of Europe’s Ryder Cup team may not wish to return to Minnesota any time soon, following the mauling they received at the hands of the US team at this month’s Ryder Cup, there’s no reason why travelling British golfers should ignore this beautiful, yet significantly underrated golfing destination, which boasts a stunning array of great value championship courses and a whole lot more besides.

While Minnesota’s status as a golfing state couldn’t be higher, following Hazeltine’s star billing at the 41st Ryder Cup, the thousands of European fans who descended on the area will also have discovered that the ‘land of 10,000 lakes’ – many of which are just large water hazards – has plenty more to offer the visiting golfer.

Sandwiched between the Great Lakes and the Great Plains on the Canadian border, Minnesota boasts an impressively rich golfing pedigree, having the honour of being the only one of America’s 50 states to have hosted all 13 USGAsanctioned tournaments.

Hazeltine is clearly its most famous venue, having twice hosted both the US Open (’70, ’91) and the US PGA Championship (’02, ’09), but Minnesota is much more than just a one-course state, in fact there are more than 450 layouts to choose from.

While it is often futile to generalise, one common theme that joins Minnesota's golf courses is that they are all set in beautiful, natural terrain and are always presented in superb condition. On top of that, they offer extremely good value for money, with green fees starting from as a little as $30 (£22) at public courses, and rising to no more than $100 (£80) for top championship courses at semi-private venues. With so much choice, it’s easy to plan a trip to suit all budgets.

■ JUICY LUCY BURGER

■ BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

The nearest course to Hazeltine National is Chaska Town Course, which jointly staged the 2006 US Amateur with the Ryder Cup venue. Designed by legendary US architect Arthur Hills, the 6,800yard layout is a superb test, with water coming into play on no fewer than 12 holes, and numerous changes in elevation to contend with. Always presented in pristine condition, the $50 green fee represents something of a steal for what GolfWeek ranks inside the top 35 public course in America.

The ‘twin cities’ of Minneapolis and St Paul are ringed by superb courses, many of them offering the traditional American country club experience.

Take your pick form Braemar in Edina; Rush Creek in Maple Grove; Prestwick in Woodbury; Stonebrooke in Shakopee, and StoneRidge in Stillwater, while just a short trip outside the city limits brings the delights of the Legends Club and The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake; Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan; Territory Golf Club in St Cloud; The Jewel Golf Club in Lake City; and Willingers Golf Course in Northfield.

The Central Lakes area of the state is home to some of the most honoured courses in Minnesota,

WHILE IT WOULD TAKE THE FIRST-TIME VISITOR OVER 18 MONTHS OF DAILY GOLFING TO GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE LIST OF COURSES IN THE STATE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN MINNESOTA with The Pines at Grandview Lodge, The Classic at Maddens, Deacon’s Lodge of Breezy Point Resort, or either of the courses at Cragun’s Legacy Courses.

There are plenty of birdies waiting — and also a lot of native walleye fish to catch, if you are interested in wetting a line in one of those 10,000 lakes.

Even Tom Lehman, the Minnesota-born former Ryder Cup player and captain, hasn’t managed to play all the courses to be found in his native state, with Giants Ridge at Biwabik in the breathtaking Iron Range, and Dacotah Ridge amid the prairie skylines of the southwest, yet to be ticked off the

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL | OCT/NOV 2016 [45]

THE CENTRAL LAKES AREA OF THE STATE IS HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST HONORED COURSES IN MINNESOTA

■ THE WILDERNESS AT FORTUNE BAY

■ THE PINES AT GRANDVIEW RESORT

essentially a cheeseburger where the cheese goes inside the meat (go with it), while beer lovers can slake their thirst on craft ales created by over 100 microbreweries registered in the state.

As the large and sizeable crowds at Hazeltine showed with their choice of eye-catching headwear, the Minnesota Vikings are treated as legends in this neck of the woods, and a trip to the NFL team’s new US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to catch a game of American Football should also be on every visitor's ‘to do’ list.

Staying in Minneapolis, Tom Lehman has probably yet to enjoy a game of golf on the Skyline Mini course located on the roof of the Walker Art Center – although he has more than likely seen inside this iconic venue, which houses a stunning collection of contemporary art. Other cultural attractions include an active theatre scene, with the Minneapolis St. Paul Area boasting more theatre seats per capita than anywhere else in America outside of New York, and where everything from the latest Broadway musical to classical theatre is offered.

And, of course, there’s music. The distinctive Minneapolis Sound was created by Prince, arguably the city’s most famous son, and the late star’s Paisley Park private estate and production complex will soon be open for tours. Visitors can catch a gig at First Avenue, where the album version of Purple Rain was recorded, and the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, where Prince was almost part of the furniture. And don’t miss the Bayfront Blues Festival in Bob Dylan’s birthplace of Duluth, set on the shores of Lake Superior.

So whatever tune you dance to, Minnesota has a beat to suit your mood. Whether it be catching fish in the lakes, catching birdies on its golf courses, catching a show in town, or simply enjoying the great outdoors, the North Star state has it all.

Just don’t mention the Ryder Cup, or you’ll never get them to shut up.

57-year-old Champions Tour player’s bucket list.

And while it would take the first-time visitor over 18 months of daily golfing to get through the entire list of courses in the state, there are plenty of other things to see and do in Minnesota for those who want to enjoy off-course activities at a superb range of family-friendly resorts, where outdoor activities such as nature walks and water sports can be combined with pampering sessions in luxury spas.

If shopping’s your thing, you'll love the Mall of America in Bloomington, which is the largest

shopping and entertainment complex in the US, with more than 520 stores, an amusement park, cinemas, aquarium, and more than 50 restaurants.

Those looking for a more boutique experience should head to Grand Avenue in St Paul, where a wide selection of independent shops, craft markets and restaurants will see you happily browse away a few hours between rounds. With no sales tax on clothing and shoes in Minnesota, shopping is economical too!

Foodies should be sure to track down a Juicy Lucy Burger – a Minneapolis culinary staple that is

■ (ABOVE) MINNESOTA VIKINGS STADIUM

■ (LEFT) GRAND VIEW LODGE RESORT

[46] OCT/NOV 2016 | UK BREAKS

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TAKE A TRIP TO TUNED-UP

TEWKESBURY G

olfers looking for a relaxing break in the Gloucestershire countryside should head for the tranquil surroundings of the Tewkesbury Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club, which offers an 80-bedroomed 18th century manor house hotel with enviable views over the historic town of Tewkesbury.

The resort, which has recently come back under family ownership, has been the subject of a £4m renovation, with every element of the venue enjoying substantial improvements.

Improvements inside the hotel include nine new luxury suites, two meeting rooms, two new spa treatment rooms, an orangery, and a new cocktail lounge. Luxuriously appointed by interior designer ADS-Design, the new bedrooms draw upon the historical connections of the venue, which overlooks the site of the Battle of Tewkesbury.

Besides the multi-million pound new additions,

the renovation programme saw all 85 guestrooms receive a complete refurbishment with new interiors, new Hypnos beds and 40-inch Smart TVs. The 18-hole, 6,579-yard course, which was originally designed by architect Frank Pennick, has recently benefitted from a complete bunker renovation programme by Peter McEvoy, and features plenty of interesting and testing holes, with wooded areas and water hazards appearing early in the round before it opens up onto spacious fairways on the back nine.

Guests have a range of dining options, including with the Garden Room, which serves traditional English and French cuisine, while The Place offers a range of light snacks and meals. Guests’ leisure needs are taken care of by an indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, gym, and squash and tennis courts, all of which are free to use.

Nearby attractions include the cathedral city of Worcester, the surrounding Malvern Hills and

■ ALL THE BUNKERS AT TEWKESBURY HAVE RECENTLY BEEN RENOVATED

Cotswolds, and the races at Cheltenham.

The hotel is currently offering one night’s dinner, bed and breakfast, two rounds of golf, and full use of the leisure facilities for £115pp Mon-Thurs, £119 Fri/ Sat, or £99 for Sunday.

For more details call 01684 272320 or visit www.tewkesburypark.co.uk.

HIT ENGLAND’S ATLANTIC LINKS THIS AUTUMN

W

■ SAUNTON BOASTS TWO STUNNING LINKS COURSES

ith free-draining fairways and firm greens, the stunning links that line the north coast of Devon and Cornwall come into their own in the autumn months, when inland courses are beginning to soften up.

The six courses that form the Atlantic Links trail along the dramatic backdrop of the north Atlantic coastline boast a combined age of almost 700 years, with Royal North Devon being the eldest, having been founded in 1864, while both Burnham & Berrow and St Enodoc were founded in 1890, Saunton East in 1897, with the younger members, Trevose and Saunton West, having been established in 1925 and 1937 respectively.

Burnham & Berrow is particularly noted for its distinct sand hills that form such stubborn obstacles for golfers to avoid mid-way through a round. Throw in the prevailing south westerly

Southern Counties

HEATHLAND GOLF TOURS

winds that whip in from the Atlantic and along the Bristol Channel, and its easy to see why it presents a fearsome challenge.

Royal North Devon is not only the senior citizen of the Atlantic Links, but is also England’s oldest golf course. Indeed, this unique links course has hardly changed in 150 years and to play it is like taking a step back in time.

Further down the Devon coast is Saunton, set in the remote shadows of the giant sand dunes of Braunton Burrows, where its two courses, East and West, are among the greatest links in the world.

Exclusive Golf Breaks is offering two-night breaks staying at the Barnstaple Hotel, and playing rounds at Burnham & Berrow, Royal North Devon and Saunton West, from £279pp.

For more details and bookings, call 01822 618181 or visit www.exclusivegolfbreaks.com.

To enquire call:

01822 618181 Website:

Email:

schgt.co.uk

info@exclusivegolfbreaks.com

Five of England’s finest heathland courses have joined forces as Southern Counties Heathland Golf Tour Blackmoor, Hankley Common, Hindhead, Liphook and West Sussex Staying at top quality hotels and Inns.

Packages start from just £339 playing three rounds of golf and two nights B&B at a top venue

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

UK BREAKS | OCT/NOV 2016

‘EARLY BIRD’ SAVINGS WITH

Q HOTELS T

he QHotels Group incorporates 11 UKbased golf resorts within its 27-strong hotel portfolio, offering golfers a wide choice of destinations – and 19 courses – throughout the country at which to enjoy great value breaks.

Golfers can choose from Aldwark Manor, Belton Woods, Cameron House, Dunston Hall, Forest Pines, Hellidon Lakes, Oulton Hall, Mottram Hall, The Westerwood and Telford Hotel.

Forest Pines is one of its most popular venues, with the Lincolnshire-based club featuring a superb 27-hole championship layout, with three loops of nine holes meandering through a mix of majestic pine forest and open heathland. The most challenging combination is the Forest and Pines layout, which measures 6,859 yards.

The shorter Beeches loop, with its three par

threes, provides an ideal warm-up. The course, which was among the unsuccessful bidders to stage this year’s Solheim Cup, is always presented in top condition and is an easy walk.

After a round, guests can relax in the four-star hotel, which offers 188 ■ BELTON WOODS bedrooms, a luxury spa, three restaurants and two bars.

The majority of QHotels boast spa and leisure clubs, offering treatments that include massage, manicure, pedicure, aromatherapy, detoxifying wraps and reflexology. The leisure clubs offer state-of-the-art fitness gyms, indoor heated swimming pools, saunas and steam rooms, and many also feature thermal suites, incorporating aroma steam rooms, ice fountains and experience showers.

All the hotels offer deluxe rooms, junior suites and large suites for those in search

[47]

of absolute luxury. Each of the rooms is individually designed, with options such as spa baths or walk-in double showers.

Golf breaks for groups of 12 or more can be booked for just £79pp for bookings made before October 31, 2016. Packages include overnight accommodation, a three-course evening meal, full English breakfast, 36 holes of golf, and 25% discounts on drinks and purchases in the pro shop.

Call 0845 074 0050 and quote 'EARLYBIRD17' or visit www.qhotels.co.uk.

TEE UP A WINTER BREAK TO

GLORIOUS GALGORM G algorm Resort & Spa, Northern Ireland’s premier luxury hotel and spa, situated just 30 minutes from Belfast, is the perfect location for a winter golfing break.

Set within 163 acres of stunning parkland, with the spectacular River Maine flowing through the estate, the Ballymena-based resort, which has recently undergone a £10 million makeover, has a truly unique setting.

Close to both Belfast airports and the

■ GALGORM CASTLE

TheManor House

& Ashbury Hotels

- The Only Sport, Craft & Spa Hotels in the UK

and several ditches.

Fully warmed up, golfers can try their hand at the 18-hole championship course at nearby Galgorm Castle, and, if time permits, make the short trip to take on the challenge of some of Ireland’s most renowned links layouts on the coast, including Royal Portrush, venue for the 2019 Open Championship.

Prices for overnight accommodation, full Irish breakfast, and 18 holes at Galgorm Castle, start from £90 person, based on a minimum of two people sharing a double room.

For further enquiries, visit www.galgorm.com.

FREE GOLF at

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Set in the foothills of Dartmoor National Park, Devon.

The Ashbury Hotel is the ideal venue for your golf break.

At least 27 holes of FREE golf with each night of stay!

Pines 17th 442 yards, Par 4

Oakwood 16th 172 yards, Par 3

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06/10/16 - 26/04/17 • FREE Golf • ½ Price Buggies - £8 • 10% OFF Health & Beauty

EW N

Autumn to Spring

spectacular scenery of the North Antrim Coast, it is the ideal base to escape to the beautiful nearby golf courses, as well as sample the resort’s brand new 9-hole pitch-and-putt facility.

The new executive course is located to the rear of the hotel’s river-facing self-catering cottages, with clubs, balls, tees being provided by the spa reception, where bookings are also taken. Opened by Ireland’s rugby captain Rory Best earlier this year, the hotel welcomes guests to enjoy the new course, whose difficulty is enhanced by numerous bunkers, a pond

Oakwood 4th 321 yards, Par 4

Multi Sport Simulators

Early 2017 Full Board Bargain Breaks from: 4 Nights Midweek £182pp • 3 Nights Weekend £147pp

PLUS unique Craft Centre featuring 17 tutored crafts, including Pottery, Woodwork, Glass Engraving & Hot Press Printing

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Kigbeare Pines Beeches Oakwood Ashbury 9 + Pines Front 9 Ashbury 9 + Pines Back 9 Willows

EW N

Additional Facilities FREE to residents of our hotels

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• All prices per person • All rooms en-suite • Full board • Party discounts •

[48] OCT/NOV 2016 | TRAVEL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

MAKE MONTEROS YOUR MARBELLA HOME

S

et in a secluded area on the outskirts of Los Naranjos or Miraflores.

Marbella, away from the hustle and bustle of The package, which includes free transfers the town centre, the five-star Hotel Los Monteros to Marbella G&CC and Santa Clara, costs from Spa & Golf is an ideal venue for golfers seeking a €223 for a double room, with a minimum stay of relaxing luxury holiday in southern Spain. seven nights.

Within striking distance of many of the region’s For bookings, email top courses, the hotel boasts 173 spacious rooms, reservas@monteros. three restaurants, three outdoor pools, a luxury com, call 00 34 spa, gym, and its own beach club.

952771700, or visit The hotel has put together a great value staywww.monteros.com. and-play package, which includes accommodation in a superior double room; champagne buffet breakfast; green fees at Marbella Golf & Country Club and Santa Clara; and three further rounds at a selection of other local courses, including Alcaidesa, Atalaya, Cabopino, El ■ MARBELLA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Chaparal, El Paraíso, Los Arqueros,

■ LOS MONTEROS

CATALUNYA RAISES ITS GAME WITH NEW HOTEL P

GA Catayluna’s status as one of the top golf resorts in Europe was raised up a notch or two this summer, following the opening of a brand new five-star hotel.

The popular European Tour venue, which is located 20 minutes from Girona, unveiled the new 149-bedroom Hotel Camiral in June. Designed by critically-acclaimed interior designer Lazaro Rosa-Violán, the contemporary five-star venue offers views of the golf courses, and boasts three restaurants, a swimming pool, beauty centre and a gym.

The hotel development is part of a €50 million investment in the resort, with future plans including the building of a new equestrian centre; the construction of a new man-made recreational lake to accommodate a beach club; and the planting of a vineyard.

The resort’s 7,333-yard Stadium Course is

routinely ranked Spain’s number one, and is ably supported by the par-72 Tour Course. The resort also boasts Europe’s largest chipping and putting green, the Sergio Garcia Junior Golf Academy, and the Dave Pelz Spanish Golf School.

For details on the latest golf break packages to the resort, visit www.pgacatalunya.com.

■ THE STADIUM COURSE IS EUROPE'S TOP-RANKED TRACK

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL | OCT/NOV 2016 [49]

SOAK UP THE

SICILIAN SUNSHINE WITH GOLF ESCAPES S

ince opening in 2010, the Sir Rocco Forte-owned Verdura Golf & Spa Resort has enjoyed a steady stream of visitors eager to soak up the relaxed atmosphere of Sicily’s most exclusive golf and leisure resort.

Located on a stunning stretch of coastline in the rugged south west corner of the island, an hour’s drive south of Palermo, the resort boasts 45 holes of golf and a 200-bedroom five-star hotel.

Other facilities include a 4,000-square foot spa, fitness and beauty centre, six tennis courts, four swimming pools, nine restaurants and bars, and 1.8km of private beach.

At the heart of the resort are three Kyle Phillipsdesigned golf courses – the West, the East, and a ninehole par 3 course – which occupy the lion’s share of a 580-acre beach-fronted property.

Built to the highest specifications, a composite course of the East and West was used when Verdura hosted the Sicilian Open in 2012 and both are a delight to play, with the spectacular coastal finishes on both layouts guaranteed to live long in the memory.

Standout holes on the West include the loop from the eighth to the 12th holes, and the seaside finish, which builds to a crescendo and finishes beneath the traditional Sicilian clubhouse. The East, meanwhile, is more undulating and diverse and offers a variety of different tests and challenges, with the back nine among the best anywhere in Europe. Each hole stands alone on merit – the long, ridge-top par-three 12th is a hole of simple design and beauty, but one of the hardest par-threes you’ll play – before the round finishes in breathtaking style with two memorable the par-fours.

The practice facilities are no less impressive, with a

■ A DELUXE DOUBLE ROOM OVERLOOKING THE GOLF COURSES

■ VERDURA OFFERS 45 HOLES

double-ended driving range, putting and chipping greens, practice bunkers, and PGA-qualified professionals for tuition. The clubhouse, built around a small piazza, houses a pro shop, restaurant and bar where golfers can enjoy a daily complimentary ‘19th Hole’ lunch.

Guests can sample an authentic taste of traditional Sicily with an array of dishes at one of the resort’s four restaurants and five bars – with fresh, organic produce sourced straight from Verdura’s own garden. In addition, visitors can enjoy an array of cultural and culinary experiences, where they can discover the secrets of Sicilian cooking, with menus inspired by celebrity chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and taste the many famous wines of the region.

Children are well catered for, with a complimentary kids club that offers a varied activity programme for all ages, while in the evening, babysitting services are also available.

For golfers looking for a short break to this stunning resort, Sussex-based tour operator Golf Escapes has a range of packages, including a four night half-board stay, with two rounds of golf, for £399 per person, based on two people sharing a twin room with uninterrupted views of the Mediterranean. A lengthier seven-night break, including five rounds, costs from £555pp. Both offers are for stays in November and December.

For further details, visit www.golf-escapes.com or call 01342 811777.

Specialist Golf Travel Insurance from Holidaysafe.co.uk Cover for lost or damaged equipment up to £3,000 European and Worldwide policies available Cover for delayed equipment up to £1,000 Cover for pre-paid green fees up to £500 Single and Multi Trip policies available Cover starts from as little as £4.96 Visi t Ho lida ysa fe.c ‘GN o.uk/Go to s lf & ave 1617 ent 20% ’ er * on line

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[50] OCT/NOV 2016 | TRAVEL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL REVIEW PARIS

PUTTING AROUND

PARIS Forget the stresses of flying, or the joys of the Channel Tunnel – the most relaxing way to travel to the golf courses of Northern France is by ferry, as Matt Nicholson discovered on a Brittany Ferries break to Paris, where he enjoyed an early sighter of the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup PHOTOGRAPHY: PETE GOLDING

A

lthough unlikely, it’s just possible that Brittany Ferries’ ship designers had golfers in mind when they produced the two-up, two-down cabins. Whether the higher handicappers should be allocated the two upper berths and the better players sleep below is a matter each fourball should decide for itself, but what is indisputable is that four golfers sharing a cabin and a car is by far the most economical way of crossing over to and travelling around France.

A spacious vehicle that can comfortably accommodate four people, their clubs and clutter is a huge help, and our party were particularly fortunate in having a couple of luxurious BMW X5s to transport us around in cosseted comfort.

Quite why I sleep better on board a ship than I do in my own bed is unclear. Perhaps the gentle motion helps. Because Portsmouth to Caen is a comparatively short hop, the music piped into the cabin to rouse passengers curtailed what I suspect would otherwise have been a good eight hours. After a tasty breakfast, we were soon on our way. Arriving so early enables golfers to tee off in the morning and enjoy a full first day of their holiday, as well as effectively saving the cost of an overnight stay in a hotel.

After a couple of hours fizzing through the pretty French countryside, we arrived at Le Golf Parc de Robert Hersant. Formerly the personal golfing playground of the late press magnate of the same name, 15,000 trees were planted in its creation, including sequoias, douglas firs and gingkoes, which serve to enhance some already spectacular scenery. Set in 200 acres and designed by Ronald Fream, the course is delightful and an unallayed pleasure to play, with truly magnificent specimen trees that are just as attractive as the holes.

Everything is on a grand scale – wide fairways, big bunkers, and large sloping greens. Together they give the course an almost American feel. Water is never very far away on this unique creation that is part-golf course, partarboretum, and the truly spectacular lakes are most decidedly not ponds. The carefully-manicured fairways certainly add significantly to the considerable visual appeal, and the combination of all these elements makes for a genuinely different and memorable golfing experience that is extremely pretty at any time of the year, but quite dazzling in the autumn.

We stayed in the city of Versailles at Hotel Le Versailles, only a few hundred yards from the breathtaking Versailles Palace itself, which, despite it’s location, feels very calm and the rooms were very spacious.

Although not sleeping in Louis XIV’s immodest gaff, the two Ryder Cup teams will at least be able to enjoy its opulent splendour at the opening ceremony of the 2018 competition. And, if you have the chance, you too should seize the opportunity of admiring this spectacular 17th century marvel, which is just 12 miles south-west of the centre of Paris. At the very least, wander around the fabulous gardens, which, somewhat surprisingly, are free to enter.

No more than half an hour from Versailles lies another monument to the French aristocracy, in the shape of a magnificent chateau that sits on a hill above Golf de Rochefort. Although hardly in the same league as Versailles, nevertheless, with its massive terraces and innumerable columns, it is very imposing and seriously impressive.

The course below is equally striking. Carved through a dense forest of towering trees, it feels rather Woburnesque. With a huge amount of elevation at his disposal, Fred Hawtree has created a number of spectacularly lofty tees that afford fabulous views over the Chevreuse Valley and surrounding

■ THE 18TH HOLE AT PARIS NATIONAL IS SURE TO PROVIDE DRAMA IN 2018

countryside. Each hole is delightfully self-contained, and the impressive trees provide plenty of definition and pose the greatest threat. In truth, there’s plenty of room, and the forest fear factor is mostly in the mind – as are most things in golf.

One of the most memorable, if slightly quirky parts of the round is saved for the 18th hole, where a drag lift – of the kind usually found on ski slopes – is available to help weary golfers up from the 18th green to the clubhouse inside the chateau.

Next up on our itinerary was Le Golf National, venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup. Walking into the clubhouse, it’s hard to escape the feeling that you’ve gatecrashed a party far too early. Posters, banners, flags and fliers all proudly proclaim the fact the Ryder Cup is coming here in two year’s time when, I confidently predict, Europe will recapture the trophy that is rightfully ours.

Although French golfers haven’t made much of an impact in the Ryder Cup – Thomas Levet and Jean Van de Velde being the country’s sole representatives since France joined the fray in 1979 – there’s no denying the country’s support of European golf, with the Open de France being one of the European Tour’s showpiece events for many a year.

Like Celtic Manor, Le Golf National’s Albatros Course was conceived and designed as a tournament venue from the outset, with its stadiumstyle layout providing stunning vantage points over what is essentially a flat, parkland course that features elements of links, while also providing the impression that you could be playing target golf in Florida. If you want to know what a hybrid course looks like, then the Albatros is it.

Given the somewhat uninspiring plot of land they were given on the outskirts of Versailles, architects Robert Von Hagge and Albert Chesneau drew deeply on their vast experience to squeeze every ounce of excitement and drama from what was formerly a landfill site, and created a championship layout which is tough, but fair, and tests all the elements of a player’s game.

The 6,854-yard layout, which is built on a clay base, is notable for its vast, undulating fairways dotted with innumerable links-style bunkers, many measuring over 100 yards long. Its greens are both sizeable

EVERYTHING IS ON A GRAND SCALE – WIDE FAIRWAYS, BIG BUNKERS, AND LARGE SLOPING GREENS. TOGETHER THEY GIVE THE COURSE AN ALMOST AMERICAN FEEL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL | OCT/NOV 2016

[51]

■ THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES WAS LESS THAN A MILE FROM THE HOTEL

WITH UP TO 100,000 SPECTATORS CAPABLE OF WATCHING THE ACTION ON THESE HOLES ALONE, IT’S NOT HARD TO SEE WHY PARIS NATIONAL TICKED SO MANY BOXES

and slick, and offer numerous opportunities for heart-in-mouth pin positions over the courses many water hazards, while deep fescue roughs, occasional trees, and the rigid slopes of artificiallycreated dunes make for additional trials which will test the world’s best.

With up to 100,000 spectators capable of watching the action on these holes alone, it’s not hard to see why Paris National ticked so many boxes – and when you factor in the excellent national and international transport links, the splendour of Versailles, and the delights of nearby Paris, then it all adds up to a pretty impressive picture, and one that should have European golf fans fighting for tickets like never before. Having battled your way round, you will doubtless sleep all the better on the ferry home, and dream of the glory that will unfold on Le Golf National fairways in a little under two years’ time. They give out wildcards to anyone these days, so who knows, your experience might count for something!

For more information on Brittany Ferries’ range of golf breaks to France and Northern Spain, visit www.brittanyferries.com/golf, call 0330 1595418 or email golfdesk@brittanyferries.com.

■ LE GOLF PARC ROBERT HANSANT HAS MANY WATER FEATURES

EXAMPLE PACKAGES Golf breaks Ryder Cup and around Paris CHANTILLY 2 NIGHTS ON BOARD, 2 NIGHTS B&B AND 3 ROUNDS FROM ONLY £365 PP • Sail overnight from Portsmouth to Caen with cabin, arrive the following morning • Play your first round at the magnificent Apremont • Stay 2 nights at Hotel Dolce Chantilly • Play 2 further rounds at Lys Chantilly and Raray • Sail overnight from Caen to Portsmouth with cabin, arrive the following morning

VERSAILLES 2 NIGHTS ON BOARD, 2 NIGHTS B&B AND 3 ROUNDS FROM ONLY £425 PP • Sail overnight from Portsmouth to Caen with cabin, arrive the following morning • On arrival drive to the superb Feucherolles golf club • Stay 2 nights at the Hotel le Versailles • Play a further 2 rounds at Golf de Bethemont and Golf de Courson • Sail overnight from Caen to Portsmouth with cabin, arrive the following morning

RYDER CUP PACKAGE 2 NIGHTS ON BOARD, 2 NIGHTS B&B AND 3 ROUNDS FROM ONLY £525 PP • Sail overnight from Portsmouth to Caen with cabin, arrive the following morning • On arrival travel to Golf de Courson for your first round, before travelling to Hotel le Versailles • Play a further 2 rounds at Golf National and Golf de Rochefort • Sail overnight from Caen to Portsmouth with cabin, arrive the following morning

■ TEEING OFF IN FRONT OF CHATEAUX DE ROCHEFORT

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COLUMN | OCT/NOV 2016

[53]

MY NEW BUCKET LIST As another golf season draws to a close, Sarah Stirk picks out her highlights of the best new course openings in 2016

BLUEJACK NATIONAL, USA

■ CABOT CLIFFS, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

W

ITH MOST OF MY TRAVELLING DONE FOR THE YEAR – just a little sojourn to Portugal awaits – now seems like a good time to reflect on some of the most talked about new golf course openings of 2016. Several are on my hit list for the months ahead, and I suggest they go on to yours too.

They are spread right across the world, and if The Bluffs in Vietnam was the opening of 2015, the list below includes designs from New Zealand, Australia, Estonia, Canada, and Malaysia, with some big name designers involved.

CABOT CLIFFS, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

The sister course to Cape Breton's Cabot Links, Cabot Cliffs officially opened this summer to much fanfare, and by all accounts the Bill Coore–Ben Crenshaw co-design has a chance to become one of the best courses in the world.

Situated about half a mile from the Links, the Cliffs occupies a more diverse site, sitting on top of a succession of bluffs that overlook the Gulf of St Lawrence, with fairways transitioning between woodland, wetland and meadowlands. Unusually, each nine offers an even mix of par threes, four and fives, while the ocean can be seen from every hole. The signature is undoubtedly the par-3 16th, which plays across the edge of the cliffs, although the designers are said to prefer the par-4 13th, which sweeps away from the ocean, and features a sizeable hump in front of the green.

Green Fees: $215, www.cabotlinks.com

THE ELS CLUB, DESARU COAST, MALAYSIA

Located on the south east coast of Malaysia, a 90-minute drive from Singapore, The Els Club Desaru Coast is the second installment in the Els Club Malaysia portfolio. It joins The Els Club Teluk Datai under the banner, and looks to build on the successes achieved by its sister club in being awarded the World Golf Awards title of ‘The Best New Golf Course in the World’ in 2014.

The facility features the Ocean Course, a 27-hole

layout designed by four-time Major champion Ernie Els. Encompassing three unique environments, the course meanders through natural wetlands and lakes as it makes its way through the spectacular natural rolling terrain set alongside the South China Sea. And second 18-holer, the Valley Course, is being codesigned by Els’ fellow Major champion, Vijay Singh, while there’s also a 9-hole course designed for all the family – the Little Easy – and an Els Performance Academy.

While Tiger Woods hasn’t had much luck in reigniting his playing career, all that time off has at least allowed the former world No.1 to indulge his growing passion for golf course design.

And following hot on the heels of the success of his first design at El Cardonal at Mexico’s Diamante Resort, which opened at the end of 2014, Woods has opened his first US course at BlueJack National in Houston, Texas.

Using a long-since closed course which Ben Crenshaw started but never finished, Woods worked alongside professional architect Beau Welling to create a course that is surprisingly hilly for the Houston area, with the layout featuring plenty of elevation changes, punctuated by rippling lakes, stately pines and native Bluejack oaks, all of which give it a feel similar to Augusta National – which is fine by my book! www.bluejacknational.com

www.elsclubmalaysia.com THE OLYMPIC COURSE, BARRA DA TIJUCA, BRAZIL

PARNU BAY, ESTONIA

After much controversy over land rights and environmental concerns, the Olympic course played host to a fabulous Olympic Games and produced a golden performance from Justin Rose.

Reclaimed from land used for sand mining and part of the Marapendi nature reserve, Gil Hanse's design enjoys a lowlying seaside plot on the edge of Rio and features no trees or typical rough. Instead, balls that run beyond the fairways end up in native areas of grass and sand. In addition, there are 79 bunkers, which are unquestionably the most dramatic features on the course.

With wind a constant factor, the 7,128-yard course is very reminiscent of one of Hanse’s other spectacular creations, Castle Stuart in Scotland, with lots of run offs around the greens, while Rose compared the course to the Australian sandbelt courses around Melbourne – which is high praise indeed.

The final three holes are superbly designed for maximum drama, with the 16th being a 300-yard drivable par four; the 17th a tricky little 130-yard par three; and the 18th is a demanding 570-yard par five, which proved very hard to reach in two.

Immediately after Games, the course was transferred over to the Brazilian Golf Federation, where they will develop an academy and work on getting the locals more involved – while it looks certain to host more tournaments, both amateur and professional, in the future.

This sandy seaside site, 75 miles south of Tallinn, is the first links-style course in the Baltics. The layout was designed by Lassi Pekka Tilander, and shaped by Mick McShane, the man behind St Andrews Links’ Castle Course and the muchloved Kingsbarns. The course features wide fairways and expansive sand areas, as well as multi-leveled greens with plenty of movement.

Pärnu Bay also boasts a five-hole short course – a familiar trend for new openings to attract the younger generation – while the stylish modernist clubhouse, located at the highest point on the estate, features huge floor-to-ceiling windows for stunning 360-degree views over the course.

Green Fees: £60, www.cbg.com.br

Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahSkySports

www.parnubay.com

And for 2017….

Looking ahead to next year, there is considerable hype already surrounding two new developments, which I’m keeping a close eye on. The Black Course at Streamsong in Central Florida, designed by Gil Hanse, will be the third layout at the resort. I reviewed Streamsong in one of my previous columns, and it’s without doubt one of my favourite golfing destinations. The plan is for up to six courses, by which time it will undoubtedly rival the likes of Bandon Dunes.

Talking of which, Sand Valley in Wisconsin is also coming along nicely, and the two courses, designed

by Coore and Crenshaw and David McLay Kidd respectively, are set to open in 2017. It’s set to be the Bandon of the Midwest. I hope that has whetted your appetite – plenty to plan for the year ahead!

[54] OCT/NOV 2016 | TRAVEL

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

■ MAZAGAZAN BOASTS ITS OWN PRIVATE BEACH AND AN 18-HOLE GARY PLAYER-DESIGNED COURSE

MAKE YOUR WAY TO MAGICAL

MAZAGAN L

ocated 90km south of Casablanca, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, the Mazagan Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort features a 500-room hotel, 67 villas, six restaurants, spa, casino, nightclub, and an 18-hole championship golf course.

Opened in 2009, the resort was built by South African hotelier Sol Kerzner at a cost of more than £250m. Styled on traditional Moroccan architecture, the hotel features dark woods, mosaics, ochre walls and green-tiled roofs.

The golf course is the highlight of the leisure facilities on offer here, with Gary Player having carved out a superb 18-hole links that runs alongside a 3km stretch of beach. While only a handful of holes are hard by the sea, the 6,093-metre course follows the contours of the dunes and offers many natural links features, albeit it with very non-Celtic vegetation, including dreaded ‘witches fingers’, a stubby shrub that

seems to live on a diet of golf balls.

The first five holes wend their way around the luxury villas built beside the hotel, but the fun really starts once you head down to the sixth, a superb par three where the crashing Atlantic waves are directly ahead of you. The fairways are extremely generous, which helps, given the ever-present wind, although the challenge gets tougher as you get nearer the greens, with ragged-edged bunkers and heavily-contoured putting surfaces proving exceptionally testing.

Guests can chose from a variety of accommodation options, from private villas overlooking the course, to one of 468 deluxe en-suite rooms and 17 suites in the main hotel. Sea views come at a premium, but are worth the extra cost.

Golfers and non-golfers alike will appreciate the separate spa, which offers 19 treatment rooms, with treatments comprising a mixture of traditional

Moroccan and Western influences. A hamman and a Technogym fitness centre are also free to use.

There are six dining options, including Olives, a high quality buffet-style restaurant for breakfast and lunch; Morjana, a Moroccan-themed eaterie specialising in tagines and meze; and Sel de Mer, a stylish seafood restaurant offering locally caught fish.

The hotel also boasts the largest casino in Morocco, with over 400 slot machines and 60 gaming tables, while the adjacent Alias nightclub can accommodate up to 1,000 people, and offers regular themed nights, live bands and guest DJs. For those travelling with families, there are three different kids' clubs designed to cope with tiny toddlers through to tearaway teens. There are three swimming pools, including a separate children’s pool, 7km of private sandy beach, and activities, which include pony trekking, quad-biking, cycling, tennis, football – it has its own FIFA football

academy – computer games room and a cinema.

There’s even a kids' disco, complete with glitterball and a bar serving fruit-based cocktails.

Away from the resort, Casablanca is an hour’s drive, with the Old Medina and the Hassan II Mosque being popular attractions, while the World Heritage site of El Jadida is 20 minutes from the resort. An ancient fortified seaport, it dates back to the 16th century, when Portugal ruled the region, and features a variety of historic buildings and a daily market.

An unlimited golf package this winter costs from £180 per room per night, based on two adults and two children sharing a double room, with breakfast and free access to all the leisure facilities. Return flights to Casablanca from London Gatwick on Air Arabia (www.airarabia.com) cost from £200pp, with a free shared transfer to the hotel included.

For bookings, visit www.mazaganbeachresort.com.

PARADISE FOUND AT

CYPRUS KORINEUM RESORT C

yprus has always been a popular holiday destination with UK travellers, but an absence of world-class golf facilities prevented it from becoming a destination for British golfers, until, that is, the arrival of the Korineum Golf Resort in 2007.

Located in the north of the island, in a lush green oasis on the way to Esentepe, Korineum is tucked away in the foothills of the Five Finger Mountain Range and enjoys the prestige of being the north Cyprus’s first championshipstandard golf facility.

The entire landscape has been shaped and sculpted to perfection and features an 18-hole, 6,232-metre championship layout, a three-hole academy course, and a 34-bay driving range. The course has been laid with a special type of genetically-engineered grass called Seashore Paspalum, which has been imported from America and is designed to withstand the hot Cyprus climate.

Facilties at the resort include a 86-room hotel (including four junior suites), a choice of bars, three restaurants, swimming pool, live evening entertainment,

spa and fitness centre, as well as a 70m private beach, which is 3km from the resort, but is free for hotel guests to use.

Located outside of the Eurozone, ensuring even better value for money, tour operator Cyprus Paradise has a variety of specially-priced packages to this mustvitis destination, with a seven-night break currently available for just £439pp.

The package includes return flights from the UK, incuding golf bag carriage), local transfers, seven nights’ accommodation with daily breakfast and evening meals, and four rounds of golf with guaranteed tee times.

The price also incudes free use of the resort’s beach club, and a complimentary shuttle bus into the local town of Kyrenia. For groups of nine or more, the 10th guest goes free.

Rivers Golf Tours See a slice of The Ultimate Bucket List Golf Tour

web: riversgolftours.com.au We provide pa icipants with a friendly relaxed atmosphere where good golf, great food and beautiful scenery will ensure a memorable holiday in beautiful pa s of Australia.

For more golf information contact: riversgol ours@gmail.com

For more information, visit www.cyprusparadise.com/ golf or call 0203 1501705. For more details on Korineum, go to www.korineumgolf.com.

BLUE COTTAGE PUTS PEBBLE BEACH WITHIN REACH G

olfers looking to tick the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links off their bucket list will have to shell out $525 (£425) for the pleasure from now on, after the green fee was raised by $30.

The fees at the five-time US Open venue in California have remained at $495 for the last eight years. The new fee does not include a buggy ($40), while a caddie will set you back a further $80.

As a general policy, players must stay at Pebble Beach Resort to reserve tee times in advance, but tees times can be booked 24 hours in advance if they are available. And while the resort has plenty of on-site accommodation, those looking for a more authentic – and affordable – Monterey experience should consider renting the Blue Cottage on the Hill, an atmospheric 1920’s two-bedroom cottage up on the hill above

■ PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS

downtown Monterey and Cannery Row. Featuring a high-lofted, beamed lounge, stylish bathroom, large kitchen, utility room, and a spacious terraced deck overlooking the garden, it’s just four miles from Pebble Beach, three miles from Pacific Grove GC, and is the perfect base to enjoy all that the region has to offer.

For bookings, call Linda Briscoe-Knight on 01737 814 534, or email briscoeknightl@gmail.com.

GOLFNEWS.CO.UK

TRAVEL | OCT/NOV 2016 [55]

ME&MYTRAVELS

Former England fast bowler and talkSPORT radio presenter Darren Gough chases the golfing sun in Dubai and enjoys a post-round pint at the Jigger Inn in St Andrews

My dream holiday fourball would include… Phil Mickelson,

■ RAFFLES RESORT, CANOUAN ISLAND, GRENADINES

Freddie Flintoff and David Beckham.

I really admire Phil, and from what I gather he’s a true gentleman on and off the course. Freddie’s rubbish at golf, and so would make me look good, but he’s always fun to be around. I’ve never had the chance to meet David, and I’d love to. He’s an amazing ambassador for UK sport.

My favourite city is…

My first holiday memory... is staying at Butlin’s in Rhyl, North Wales; I won a football tournament and got a free holiday to Butlin's in Scarborough. My mum and dad were chuffed. I was 11, and I think that's when my parents first realised I might make it as a sportsman.

My favourite holiday…was a family trip to Canouan in the Grenadines. It's a Raffles resort and is the perfect family holiday destination. The island has beautiful white beaches, a stunning golf course, and plenty of activities for

the children. We stayed in a lovely two-bedroom villa with its own pool. We also had two golf buggies, which we used to whizz around the resort.

My favourite golf holiday destination is… Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Emirates Golf Club and The Montgomerie are superb, and I always seem to play my best golf out there. The courses are really manicured, the ball sits up nicely, and the greens are fabulous. Abu Dhabi Golf Club is something special, and so too is Saadiyat Beach – they’re just stunning courses.

My favourite UK golf club is…Woburn, which

■ JUMEIRAH MINA A'SALAM HOTEL, DUBAI

is only six miles from my home. I love playing all those traditional English clubs.

Christchurch in New Zealand, because I spent six months there learning my trade when I was 19.

It was my first experience of living on my own abroad, and I learnt a lot in that time. Adelaide is also a beautiful city.

Wentworth and Sunningdale are also fantastic.

My worst travel experience… was a tour to South Africa with England. Ronnie O'Reilly, our physiotherapist, Wayne Morton, and I had to fly back from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg in a small four-seater plane during a huge thunderstorm.

It was the worst two hours of my life, running away from the elements; I actually thought it was the end.

used to read when on tour with England, but I always take a couple of books on holiday now. I like James Patterson novels or autobiographies.

My favourite ‘19th hole’ is… the Jigger Inn at St Andrews. I love the history and atmosphere of the place. The clubhouse bar at The Grove Hotel in Watford is also a personal favourite. It’s right next to the practice putting green, and when the sun’s shining it’s a beautiful spot to be.

My great travel luxury is… flying business class. I'm not bothered about the hotel, as long as the bed's comfortable. I'll fly with anyone if it's only short-haul, but because I've had so many operations on my body, flying long haul isn't enjoyable unless it's in business class or above.

I always pack…plenty of sun cream and a good book. I never

My favourite hotel is… the Jumeirah Mina A'Salam in Dubai.

The architecture is amazing. The hotel is surrounded by a lake and the place is so big that you get dropped off everywhere by boat. It's also got the best spa I've ever been to in my entire life. I spent a whole day in there once.

■ THE JIGGER INN, ST ANDREWS

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